Think of me
by jesphoenix05
Summary: AU This story takes place between the years 1992 and 2000. A descendant of Hajime Saito begins remembering where he comes from... and with a little guidance he will take his own place in history!
1. Beginning of memory part 1

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, Block buster video, Saved by the Bell or Shinsengumi! Which is really too bad cause some of those boys would really be worth owning…

**Summary:** This story takes place between the years 1992 and 2005. It's not exactly a reincarnation story but more like genetic memory. A descendant of Hajime Saito begins remembering where he comes from.

**Author Note: **The Hajime Saito portrayed in this story comes mostly from the Japanese drama named "**Shinsengumi!"** and was played by actor Odagiri Jo, his cool portrayal of Saito has greatly inspired me (the fact that he's hot helps too!). So if he seems out-of-character sometimes, it's just my love for Mr. Odagiri's performance that makes this Saito act as he does!

* * *

_**Think of me…**_

**Chapter 1: The beginning of memory Part I**

* * *

The year is 1992! The place is sunny California in the US of A and the sounds of banging and shouting woke Hajime Saito Davila from his already fitful sleep… 

'It's just as well that dream was way too weird…' he thought as he forced himself out of bed advising himself that he should never watch Samurai movies with his girlfriend Tori ever again. His latest dream had put him somewhere in feudal Japan wearing a blue and white coat squaring off against some red-head (dude?) that he called Battousai.

It was a pretty vivid dream! He had heard himself speaking in Japanese which was nuts because the only other language he could speak aside from English was Spanish! What was crazier was that he understood what was being said!! He could actually remember the feel of the sword hilt and the sound of the swords clashing and the smell of blood even!!! Crazy…

"_Regresa descarado!_" he heard his neighbor shout as a door slammed in his neighbor's apartment effectively ending his reminiscence on the strange dream. He glared at the wall that connected his room to their apartment. The new neighbors were always going at it but the morning shouting matches weren't nearly as bad as their raucous makeup trysts in the evening. All the noise they were constantly making made it extremely difficult for him to do his homework or get any sleep!

No amount of complaints to the land lord had helped either since his daughter was the one living in that apartment with her new husband!! So his new job had been quite welcome not just for the extra income but also for the relatively peaceful hours at work at night in which he could easily do his homework during down time. Plus his boss was cool enough to always give him plenty of time to get his track and field training. The man had even put up a picture of Hajime by the counter on a big sign that said "Olympic Employee of the Year".

This year he had made it into the Olympic track team and his mom had been so excited she sold her car to pay for her trip to Spain! He had tried to stop her but boy if looks could kill! Mom was gonna go and nothing was gonna stop her! His mother was so happy she had been bouncing off the walls since he told her so there was little he could do now other than make sure he came home with a gold medal. To top it off he would be a senior in high school after summer and once he graduated and left to Marine Corp. Boot camp then he wouldn't have to worry about obnoxious noisy neighbors!

"This is going to be the best year ever!" he reminded himself. He pulled out his khaki work pants and his blue Blockbuster polo shirt from his drawer and stuffed it into his back pack. He grabbed his name tag from the top of the dresser and stuck it in his back pack too. He headed out to the bathroom to get ready for school stopping first by his mom's room to see if she had left for work already. He sighed of course she had left for work his mother was one of the most responsible people he knew and without a car she had to leave extra early. She always got to work on time and she rarely missed a day!

The only irresponsible thing she had ever done in her life was sleep with that useless waste of a man that had dared to call himself his father! He couldn't understand what in the name of all that was good his mother had seen in him!!! He could've lived happily his entire life without ever meeting him! As he stepped into his shower he couldn't help feeling guilty. His mother had worked hard to raise him.

That bastard's reappearance in their lives had nearly killed his mother's joy over his making the Olympic team. That rat bastard had impregnated his mother then left her and if it hadn't been for a chance meeting at the Anime Expo where his mother loved to volunteer every year that moron would never have known of his existence!

"And I would've loved to keep it that way!" he growled angrily as he stepped out of the shower. His mother loved the Anime Expo! She was an incurable geek and she had been attending Sci fi conventions and Expos since before he was born. After he was born it was years before she was able to do the things she loved again. That filth of a father of his had now made one of the things his mother loved inaccessible because the company his family owned was one of the new sponsors of the Expo. His mother didn't want anything to do with the Expo ever again.

He shook off his anger as he dressed. He knew it was hardly productive to be angry. He needed to focus and concentrate on his goals! Someday he'd be able to teach that bastard a lesson for the suffering he gave them! He hurriedly dressed and went to the kitchen to get some breakfast. He smirked in amusement as he saw the lunch bag his mother had prepared him. She drew the Olympic rings on the brown paper bag with colored markers and drew happy faces inside of them. He picked up the bag and put it in his backpack careful not to smash it.

* * *

It was the usual stuff at school. Mr. Belding was giving Zack detention for selling unauthorized and over-priced t-shirts of him and Slater the Olympic hopefuls of Bayside high! 

"Yo Haji!" Tori – his girlfriend – yelled by way of a greeting as she parked her motorcycle and hurried across the parking lot to catch up with him. He shook his head in amusement and raised a hand in greeting stopping to wait for her. She had never been the girly affectionate type but that's probably why he liked her so much! She glomped him the instant she was in arms reach though what she lacked in girly-ness she made up in pure fire! Again why he liked her!

They caught up with the others and exchanged greetings and walked into the school towards their lockers. He smiled amused as Jessie Spano was reaming A.C. Slater for some sexist remark and A.C. wasn't doing a very good job of defending himself. Lisa was busy checking her makeup and finding new ways to look even more spoiled and vain. Zack was still successfully conning students out of their allowance by purchasing the t-shirts. Screech showed up with the Glee Club and they all purchased t-shirts from Zack!

He chuckled as Tori's possessive hold on his waist tightened. The pretty girls from the Cheerleading squad had arrived with Kelly wanting to demonstrate the cheer they developed for the Olympic hopefuls of Bayside. Almost every boy in the hallway was whooping and hollering enthusiastically as the girls kicked their legs and waved their arms chanting a cheerful little corny ditty. Hajime rolled his eyes and Tori laughed…

"You know Haji…that's why I like you! You're immune to excessive girlie-ness!" she pointed out laughing but she relaxed her grip a little.

"Yea the only boy with enough brains in this entire school to not be swayed by this sexist display _is_ Hajime Davila!" Jessie declared annoyed as she slammed her locker shut and waved good bye as she headed towards her first AP class. Hajime laughed as Jessie walked away. For some reason his eclectic group of friends made him feel as though he were the only sane and normal person in the school! His early morning irritation forgotten he dumped his backpack in his locker and took his notebook and text books for his first class leaving Zack to be bullied by Tori into giving up a portion of the profits to him and Slater. He didn't doubt for a second that she would succeed…

* * *

Tiredly he finally reached his house that night after a long but satisfying day. Mom was still up gladly waiting for him as she read her new Star Wars novel. They talked for a while as she served him some dinner. He was surprised that he was still hungry despite the fact that his boss had bought him an early dinner at work and his coach's wife had actually made a special lunch for him. He figured that perhaps it was because the coach had stepped up his training in preparation for the Olympics. 

'Being an Olympic hopeful sure has its perks!' he thought as his mom asked him how his day went, how Tori was doing and how school was.

"You know mom…if you and I pool resources I have enough saved that between the two of us we can buy a really nice car and we could share it at least until we can get another one," he began pensively. His mother frowned but before she could shoot it down arguing that it was his college money he quickly explained his plan. He reminded her that he wasn't going to college right away.

He was going to the marine corp. right after high school first. Since high school was just a couple blocks from home and the video store he worked at was just across the street from their apartment building she could use the car on the weekdays to go to work and he could use the car on weekends to hang out with his friends. He could drive down to the beach and go surfing early on Saturdays and Sundays without worrying about his board on Zack's small and impractical convertible. After much dealing and wheeling he finally convinced her.

"Alright we can go this weekend! Maybe we'll get an SUV so you can strap your board to the roof!" she suggested cheerfully as she cleared the dishes.

"Ok mom!" he agreed easily. Now he wouldn't have to worry about his mom leaving so early or the weirdoes and psychos on the bus that might hurt her. He gave her a quick peck in the cheek and said good night…

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Thank you for reading and reviewing! 


	2. Beginning of memory part 2

_**Think of me…**_

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, Block buster video, Saved by the Bell or Shinsengumi!

**Summary:** This story takes place between the years 1992 and 2005. It's not exactly a reincarnation story but more like genetic memory. A descendant of Hajime Saito begins remembering where he comes from.

**Author Note: **The Hajime Saito portrayed in this story comes mostly from the Japanese drama named "**Shinsengumi!**" and was played by actor Odagiri Jo, his cool portrayal of Saito has made me revise my thoughts on this character (the fact that he's hot helps too!). So if he seems out-of-character sometimes, it's just my love for Mr. Odagiri's performance that makes this Saito act as he does!

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**Chapter 2: Beginning of memory - Part II**

* * *

_Four Japanese men in old-fashioned uniforms sporting Winchester rifles stopped a swordsman with his long dark hair in a ponytail dressed in a gray hakama and kimono. They looked like they were guarding something. In a brusque manner they questioned the swordsman's motive for being there._

"_Under the order of Lord Matsudaira of Aizu I am here to retrieve Kondo Isami's head!" the kimono wearing swordsman announced proudly. Immediately the four guards surrounded him and brought their guns to bear on him. The swordsman was unimpressed._

"_Who are you?" one of the guards demanded roughly._

"_I am the leader of the third squad of the Shinsengumi: **Hajime Saito**!" the man announced fearlessly and full of pride._

"_Capture him!" yelled one of the guards but he was too late. The foolish guards had placed them selves within range of his sword. Steel flashed in the morning light as he unsheathed his sword at lightning speed. However it wasn't until his swift blade sliced through them easily that they realized the mistake they'd made. _

_The last guard to fall did manage to squeeze out a shot but his bullet went completely wide and harmless. Saito surveyed the damage calmly as he wiped his blade with a few sheets of rice paper. Tossing them over his shoulder they fluttered over the dead bodies as he sauntered away confidently… _

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Hajime sat up with a start!

"Ok! Now I'm seriously not watching those movies ever again!" he declared firmly. It was creepy when it was just the duel with the red-head (dude?) but now there were cages with bodiless corpses and guards at a crossroad and… _WHAT IN THE WORLD WAS GOING ON!_

The scent of pancakes and sausages distracted him for a moment. It was Sunday today but alas he would not get to go to the beach and surf! He was supposed to be at the track at Palos Verdes High to meet and train with his fellow Olympic track teammates. He looked at the clock and realized he had an hour to get ready. Plenty of time to sit and have breakfast with Mom then the two of them would drive to the track where she would likely sit quietly and watch him.

'Mom should have a boyfriend…' he suddenly thought but dismissed the idea immediately. Most of the guys worthy of his mother were happily married and the ones that weren't well let's just say there was a good reason they weren't married and he was only too glad to keep them at a safe distance from his mother.

'Not that mom doesn't do a good job on her own!' he thought amused as he quickly got into his training gear. His mother had insisted on going to the sports supply store yesterday after buying the new car to get him some new running shoes as well as some sweats, running shorts and t-shirts.

'_My son will be a champion _**and**_ look like one!'_ she had declared proudly. When she was in "proud mom" mode there wasn't much he could do except let her be! He smiled as he watched her set the table. She was so happy she seemed like she was floating as she went about her task. He called out his good morning and she gave him a kiss in the forehead as he sat down at the kitchen table.

"Mom didn't you tell me once you named me after some hero of Bakumatsu era Japan?" he began deciding that his dreams may be just re-enactments of stories his mother might have told him. In college she had taken courses on Japanese culture and history. Mom had been quite obsessed with the history of samurai. It was in one of those courses that she had met Hajime's father.

"Yes…Hajime Saito the leader of the third squad of the Shinsengumi…why do you ask dear?" she replied perplexed as she put a plate with a stack of pancakes in front of him. He shrugged casually.

"Been watching samurai movies with Tori and I thought I heard his name…Did you ever tell me stories about him when I was little?" he countered deciding he would keep the subject of the weird dreams to himself for the time being.

"No… The things I know about him aren't appropriate bedtime stories for little ones!" she replied somewhat amused.

"Do you want me to tell you? You never seemed interested in the other side of your heritage before," she mused out loud surprised by his curiosity. He frowned his father was Japanese and the only son in some wealthy family by the name of Kujacu or something like that! He'd heard the name for the first time at the Expo and he didn't care much for it.

"Like I said I thought I heard the name in one of Tori's movies…Can't tell what they're saying really! I don't know why she doesn't get the subtitled ones at least!" unable to completely mask his irritation. He wasn't annoyed at Tori's penchant for un-subbed movies. He was annoyed because he'd brought to mind that wretched excuse for a sperm donor that his mother had told him was his father.

She watched him for a moment and he ignored the knowing look in her eyes as he ate. She took a bite of her breakfast and switched the subject to complain about the unavailability of good anime and Japanese movies in subtitled versions and how bad the dubbings were most of the time. She happily went on switching the subject once more to the book she had read last week.

"Yea they're murder mysteries set 600 years in the past during feudal era Japan! The main character is a samurai by the name if Sano Ichiro and I think you would like it!" she was enthusiastically raving. The female author of the books apparently had impressed his mother with her accuracy in descriptions. Hajime listened quietly all the while hoping for her to accidentally tell him more about this Hajime Saito.

"You know I read once that Hajime Saito was a chief inspector with the police swordsmen of Tokyo so he was kind of like Sano Ichiro. I read that he was a very clever detective…" she finally said and told him about an old book she'd read years ago written by an American journalist by the name of Kate Janeway.

"She used to interview interesting people from different countries. I heard her first really big interview was Queen Victoria…" she began explaining this American had interviewed Hajime Saito during the Meiji Era when he was already going by the name of Goro Fujita. She enumerated many other people who were sometimes very high ranking historical figures or just interesting characters that Hajime had some vague idea about.

"Wild Bill Hickok and Buffalo Bill Cody stand out as well as Sitting Bull and even Helen Keller! It's a series of books really but I'm not sure whether they're available anymore," she concluded dejectedly.

"She was an interesting person and she met some very interesting people sometimes before anyone knew they'd be famous! She had a knack for knowing who would make it and who would not! Hajime Saito was in the last book she wrote," she explained cheerfully as they finally finished breakfast. She continued to chatter on excitedly about these books and all the people in them as she began to clear the dishes.

She was still talking about this woman and her books when they headed out the door but Hajime continued to listen for information about Hajime Saito. The Shinsengumi were a popular point of history in modern Japanese culture so probably finding some information about them shouldn't be too hard. But his mom eventually went back to it as she talked about the American author. She rattled off all kinds of interesting facts about its different members and the legends surrounding them and Hajime absorbed every bit of it!

'Note to self: Find mom one of those books for her birthday!' he told himself firmly. They talked about this old author for a while as mom drove to the PV track to meet the coach and his fellow team mates.

"Aren't you coming?" he asked perplexed as he began climbing out of the passenger's side. She smiled and shook her head.

"Nah! I'm going over to the library! The PV library might have some of the books I was telling you about!" she replied smiling cheerfully. Hajime was not fooled. His mom had gotten into a weird mode the past year. She wouldn't come out when his friends were over and hardly ever did she go to the mall with him. When he had finally cornered her about it she had explained that she did not want to embarrass her teenage son with his friends by letting him be seen with his mother at "cool" after school hangouts!

'Oh boy here we go!' Hajime thought annoyed. He couldn't understand why his mother could think that way! It made no sense to him! He was proud of his mom and all his friends thought she was totally cool! However telling her so had not worked in the past so he tried a different tactic…

"Mom what if there's papers that need to be signed? You forget I'm a minor…" he tried and he resisted the urge to smile as his attempt succeeded in getting his mother out of the car. As they approached a group of people gathered at the center of the stadium he noticed that there were more people than Hajime anticipated. There was a news crew for a local broadcasting station and several people that didn't look like athletes. He resisted the urge to smirk as his ever prim and well dressed mother straightened some invisible imperfection on her shirt and primped her perfectly coiffed hair.

"You look fine mom…" he said softly unable to completely hide his amusement. His mother glared up at him briefly and he did chuckle then and put one arm around his petit mother's shoulders smiling proudly at her. The cameraman spotted him as they approached and pointed his camera at them. The coach pushed through the crowd and greeted them warmly and quickly he introduced Hajime and his mother to a tall woman dressed simply in some light blue stretch jeans and a pink fitted polo shirt with the initials "VS" inside two small overlapping hearts on the left breast pocket.

"Hajime let me introduce you to our sponsor: Ms. Victoria Stillwater! She has come to observe our practice today!" the coach was saying. His eyes went wide the woman needed no introduction really every male on earth over the age of fifteen knew who she was! The owner/CEO of Victoria's Secret was a famous model from the late sixties and early seventies who had launched a revolutionary line of lingerie that was renowned the world over. Every woman in the world coveted fashions made by "Victoria's Secret"; every man in the world coveted her very famous catalogue!

"And I look forward to seeing you in action Mr. Davila!" she intoned in a soft melodious voice as she shook his hand. He was glad that he managed to keep enough of his wits to thank her and introduce his mother. It struck him how graceful and dignified the woman was. Her eyes seemed possessed by an intelligence that was matched only by her astonishing physical beauty despite her age. She certainly didn't appear to be someone in her fifties! The coach pulled him away and Victoria kept his mother at her side while she gracefully and politely dismissed the news crews.

'The guys are gonna flip!' he thought with amusement as he headed to the locker room to change into his training gear with his teammates. For the moment his concerns about Hajime Saito and his Japanese heritage were forgotten in the happy glow of what was promising to be a memorable year…

* * *

Victoria pulled the younger woman along with her to a shaded section of the stands as she shooed away the reporters that hovered about her. She made small talk as they sat and waited for the athletes to come out. She encouraged the woman to boast about her brilliant son. She greatly desired to know him. It always surprised her the many ways that she ran into her "sons". 

Victoria was no ordinary woman in fact Victoria was an old alien who nearly three hundred years ago had come to this world destitute, pregnant and alone after her world had been destroyed. She'd given birth to a daughter whom she'd named after her dead first child: Rinoa. She had watched her marry and have many sons and one daughter.

Those sons had traveled the world spreading their lines far and wide. Every male seemed to inherit Victoria's penchant for adventure and usually were skilled warriors in constant search for the next challenge. Unfortunately they also had inherited Victoria's tendency to be a "flirt" thus she had often encountered sons at every turn in her early explorations of the world. So she only kept track of her family line through the one daughter who bore several more boys as well as one daughter and so on the line went. The last daughter was Rinoa the 13th sadly though she had died in a car accident ten years ago leaving behind only one son.

In fact before WWII roughly one in ten men in the US and one in twenty in the rest of the world was somehow related to Victoria however during that apocalyptic war that number had been all but decimated. She had left the world following the cataclysmic end to the war mourning the deaths of so many of her "sons". What pained her most was how they died at each other's hands. When she returned to check on the daughter's line she found however that a change had fallen upon her sons. They had not all been destroyed in the war but they no longer seemed inclined to be warriors or adventurers.

She smiled as Emi Davila went on and on with pride about how Hajime had been on the honor roll since he was in the 2nd grade! She too felt proud of Hajime! Hajime was part of that new breed of son that she'd encountered upon her return in the early 1960s. Her sons were no longer soldiers or sailors. They were doctors, teachers, scientists, entertainers and athletes most of remarkable success! They even had strong and remarkable daughters now which had never happened before! Only her daughters had been able to have daughters.

"He is a very responsible young man! He has his goals clearly in mind and stays focused on them!" Emi announced proudly. Victoria nodded and continued encouraging Emi to talk about her son. Unfortunately for Victoria she could never really tell where her sons were until she shook their hand and spoke with them because they did not inherit the special mental abilities of her ancient race only her direct line of daughters did.

It suddenly occurred to her then that Emi had named her son Hajime S. Davila the "S" stood for Saito. An interesting choice since Hajime Saito was the last bakumatsu samurai she ever spoke with before leaving during the late 1800s for a brief hiatus and a change of identity. She wondered why a Hispanic woman like Emi had felt compelled to give her son a Japanese name of such historical import to the people of that country when her son didn't look to be of Japanese descent.

"Emi, if you don't mind my asking…why did you name your son Hajime Saito? You two don't look Japanese…" she asked casually. Emi tensed and her cheer seemed to vanish at the simple question. She patted the younger woman's shoulder and looked away towards the track where the athletes were stretching and preparing for their training. She let her know with her silence that she didn't have to answer. With a sinking feeling she realized what must've happened.

'Damn rakes!' she cursed inwardly. Just because her sons were no longer warriors it didn't mean they didn't go around taking advantage of innocent girls who always fell for their charm and impressive good looks. Still with a name like that she would have to inquire as to which of her irresponsible sons had taken advantage of Emi and make him pay!

"I have worked hard…" Emi began tentatively "I was seventeen and he was twenty and I foolishly fell for his good looks and false promises. I made a mistake but I have worked hard so my mistake doesn't damage Hajime!" she concluded proudly but it was painfully obvious that she was worried that Hajime's status as an illegitimate child would harm his Olympic hopes. Her tone and tense posture suggested she had to defend herself often.

Victoria smiled 'oh yea…as soon as I find that wayward son I'm going to kick his ass!' she promised herself. She put a firm hand on Emi's shoulder as she smiled proudly at her.

"Emi, you didn't make a mistake! Ok so maybe you slept with the wrong guy but hell I've done that too! More than once!" she laughed a little trying and succeeding in lightening the mood.

"You raised an amazing young man! And just by looking at him I can tell he is special and has a brilliant future ahead of him! No Emi! You did not make a mistake I assure you!" she added infusing all the confidence and pride her ancient mind could fire at her. Emi relaxed and smiled again glowing with pride once more. Victoria smiled glad once more that she had chosen this planet to take refuge in. This planet was full of people like Emi: beautiful, proud and strong!

"Now tell me: how did Hajime get named after the leader of the 3rd Shinsengumi squad?" she asked again curious as to how she made that connection. Emi smiled and told her about her fascination with obscure historical yet heavily romanticized characters and events for example the Shinsengumi from Japan and the Pony Express in the US.

"At the time when I got pregnant I was very into samurai history and in fact that was how I met his father," she paused for a moment. It seemed to Victoria as though she were struggling to push back a memory. She could've easily scanned the woman's mind to see it with her abilities but she would not violate such a fine person as Emi that way.

"Hajime Saito stood out to me. He seemed to me like someone who could adapt to changing times without losing his convictions. I was sort of hoping Hajime would have that kind of strength…" she explained pausing and Victoria had a feeling Emi was leaving something crucial out but decided not to press. At least not yet but she would have to keep Emi close maybe she would be able to extract more from her if she got to know her better…

"You know Emi I think he does have that strength…" she replied thoughtfully but promised herself she would look into the other side of the boy's heritage as Emi continued speaking of her son in the glowing tone of a proud mother. A teenage girl with long wavy hair wearing a brown leather bomber jacket entered the stadium and spotted Emi waving wildly at her. Emi called to her and waved her over.

"That's Hajime's girlfriend! Her name is Tori…" Emi explained. Victoria smiled as Emi elaborated that though the girl had a wild tomboyish look she was very intelligent and very responsible. She was the only girl in a large mostly male family. Her parents – she explained – were decent hard working people and her older brothers were extremely over-protective of their baby sister habitually scaring away any potential boyfriends.

"But my son won them over! He's not so easily scared away!" Emi concluded proudly and Victoria laughed as she agreed. Emi was glowing with so much pride she could almost outshine the sun! When Tori reached them her eyes bugged out as she recognized the woman sitting next to her boyfriend's mother! She greeted Victoria enthusiastically pointing out how her friends were going to flip out when she told them she met Victoria Stillwater!

"Well it's nice to meet you too Tori!" Victoria smiled contentedly as she found that Tori was one of her children too (a daughter of a son!) as she shook the girl's hand…

* * *

Emi relaxed as she returned home alone. Hajime and Tori had gone together on her motorcycle to meet their friends at their favorite diner to hang out: The Max. She was excited by the day's events still. Victoria was a surprisingly easy person to talk to and she seemed genuinely interested in hearing about her Hajime's accomplishments. Victoria was full of encouragement and praise towards her on how well she had raised Hajime and it made her feel incredibly good that someone as incredibly successful as Victoria would praise her so highly. 

"Makes everything worth it!" she sighed happily. Unfortunately her happy afternoon had been cut short by an urgent phone call Victoria received on her celphone. The daughter of a friend of hers had committed suicide and she would have to fly to Japan to help out her friend since he was apparently too distraught to deal with the situation. Emi had volunteered to help in any way and to her surprise Victoria accepted her assistance!

The answering machine in the kitchen was blinking so she pushed the button to play the messages as she looked in the refrigerator to plan dinner:

"_You have 5 new messages…"_

The machine droned mechanically but Emi barely paid attention to it as she cheerfully went about her tasks. The first message was some political campaign ad and she ignored it and subsequent sales calls as she thought about her happy afternoon. She had driven Victoria to her palatial PV mansion where Victoria quickly packed and made a few phone calls. Then she drove her to the airport where a private jet with her company's logo painted on it was being prepped for take off.

Victoria wrote down Emi's number in her address book and handed Emi a business card with her personal number written on it promising to call when she returned. Emi didn't really expect her to call but promised to see each other again when she returned anyway. Despite that interruption she could say this was the best afternoon she had in a long time!

"I wish Vivian and Phillip had been there!" she said to herself. Vivian and Phillip Banks were her best friends since high school and had stuck with her through thick and thin. She would definitely call them up tonight to share this day's events! She was pulling out the OJ carton to pour herself a glass of juice when the final message that played on the machine caused her happy recollections to come to a screeching halt. The juice container slipped from her hands and splashed to the ground.

"_Emi this is Kamo! We have to talk! Call me at…"_ the husky male voice commanded beginning to recite a number. Emi rushed to the machine to stop it. Her hands shook with fear and rage.

"Oh no! He found me!" she said fearfully to herself. But she should've known it was only a matter of time before he did after their encounter at the Expo. She scrambled around the kitchen for her phone book. She knew Hajime's friend Zack had a celphone and he had given her the number in case of emergencies. She dialed the number with shaking hands. She had been certain that privacy policies and the fact that she never put her home phone or address on the volunteer application would be enough to keep him away.

'I guess money can really buy anything!' she thought as she calmed herself enough to ask Zack if Hajime was with him. Fortunately Hajime was indeed still at The Max having fun with his friends and it was with a slight pang of guilt that she asked him to come home immediately. There were other things he needed to know about his father's family and she couldn't risk Hajime getting caught unawares. Hajime seemed to sense her anxiety and agreed without questioning. She hung up the phone and slowly went to clean up the orange juice that continued to spill on the kitchen floor…

* * *

On to chapter 3! 

Thank you for reading and reviewing!


	3. Emi's Story

_**Think of me…**_

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, Block buster video, Saved by the Bell, Fresh Prince or Shinsengumi!

* * *

**Chapter three: Emi's story**

* * *

"I've gotta go…" Hajime announced as he stood up. His friends offered to come with him but there had been an unusual amount of tension in his mother's voice and he wasn't certain that he wanted his friends there at the moment so he declined making an effort to sound casual.

"I'll call you guys later!" he promised them amicably and gave Tori a quick kiss and left. Once out of sight of the diner he put his track training to practical use as he raced home. There was definitely a slight note of fear in his mother's voice and that was most unusual for his mother. She was rarely afraid of anything! His concern for her pushed him beyond his usual ability.

"_Mom!_ _Mom!_ Are you ok?" he called out as he came in to their apartment and bolting the door shut before joining her in the kitchen where she was very slowly and distractedly cleaning the floor. He noticed that her hands shook as she wrung out the rag she was using in the sink. Quickly he joined her and gave her a tight reassuring hug. She smiled and relaxed then he took a rag from under the sink and helped her finish cleaning up.

"Mother what happened?" Hajime asked as he washed out the rags and joined his mother as she set out some teacups on the table and put the kettle to boil. She sighed and rather then to reply directly she went to the answering machine and hit the play button fast forwarding to the last message:

"_Emi this is Kamo! We have to talk! Call me at 5551863…I can't believe you didn't tell me!"_

The message ended there the voice was of an older male who was obviously angry. That didn't make sense to Hajime. Who could possibly be angry at his mother? Then it hit him.

"Mom…Is that _him_?" he asked putting a touch of disdain on the last word. Reluctantly his mother nodded.

"I did try to tell him but his…his fiancé intercepted me…" she began with a touch of fear in her voice. Hajime reached across the table and gave her hand a squeeze of reassurance.

"Mom…what happened?" he asked once more. She took a deep breath and began her sad story…

* * *

_Late Summer 1974_

Maria Emilia Avellaneta Davila was a very pretty and cheerful seventeen year old girl. She was a brilliant girl on her way to a brilliant future. Or at least she had been…

Maria had fallen in love a few months ago. She had believed that she had found "the one" in that charming foreigner with his dashing good looks and his rapier wit but boy was she wrong! She had believed his carefully rehearsed lines and fallen for his empty promises and now here she was crying her heart out in her friend Vivian's shoulder. The man she loved had told her point blank he never wanted to see her again. His exact words in fact were:

"_This clinginess is pathetic Emi! Have you no pride? Don't ever call me again!" _

He had slammed the phone in her ear and for several seconds she was too shocked to do anything but hold that phone to her ear until it began beeping incessantly urging her to hang up her end of the line. For several days afterward all she did was replay that day in her head where she had given up her innocence in exchange for the promises of eternal love he made to her.

An inexplicable heaviness of body began making it difficult for her to wake up in the morning but it was nothing compared to the ache in her heart. She skipped a lot of classes. She couldn't bear to walk in to her classroom and see him there knowing he wanted nothing to do with her. As the days passed by she noticed with great concern that the price for losing her innocence had been much higher than she thought possible: she was pregnant.

"What am I going to do?" she whispered fearfully to Vivian and Phillip as she sat in the couch in their off campus apartment. Phillip of course had the answer!

"We're gonna go over there and tell that bastard that he has to take care of his responsibilities!" he answered gruffly. Phil was usually a good natured person. Tall, dark skinned and handsome he was usually an easy person to get along with. However when provoked he could easily turn into the stereotype angry black man! Nothing riled up Phillip like a man who ran out on his responsibility. Family was a big deal to him and any man who didn't respect the sanctity of it and took fatherhood lightly would easily incur his wrath!

"Yes…I can't keep this from him," Emi agreed sadly. Phil nodded solemnly.

"I'll go get Hillary's things!" Vivian declared as she got up and packed their little daughter's diaper bag. Phillip bent down to lift his little daughter out of the play pen and Emi felt a pang of envy at seeing the gentleness and love with which Phillip was talking to his little toddler. The three of them packed into Phillip's car and drove out to the posh neighborhood of Beverly Hills were Kamo Kujacu lived.

"This is it right?" Phillip asked the angry rumble in his voice giving away his feelings towards Emi's ex-boyfriend. Phillip and Vivian had never really liked Kamo and had warned her about trusting him too much. She cursed herself now for not taking Vivian's good advice! Emi swallowed hard unsure of why she felt so afraid to walk into that house. She had been here before after all many times so why did she feel so afraid?

They knocked on the door and the butler answered. Phillip gruffly announced that they were looking for Mr. Kujacu. The butler ushered them inside and took them to a small office. The two women sat on the leather couch and waited for a long time while Phil paced the room angrily. When the door finally opened Phil was ready for the confrontation but instead of Kamo a beautiful young Japanese woman walked in and gracefully greeted them.

"You are looking for my future husband? Are you classmates of his?" she asked in a beautifully elegant voice without a trace of a foreign accent as she sat behind the desk. This turn of events brought Phillip to a halt for a moment but only a moment as he rethought his approach. Emi just stared at the beautiful woman in awe and envy. Her words had shocked Emi speechless.

"I'm not going to beat around the bush Miss! We are here because Kamo has things that he needs to answer to and he needs to show his face to take account of his responsibility!" Phil began gruffly. The woman smiled back at him pleasantly and three large men entered the room then. The word "thug" didn't quite describe the look of the three men. Phil took a few steps back placing himself between the men and Vivian, Hillary and Emi.

"Let me guess," began the woman with deceptive pleasantness. "You are Maria Avellaneta! The pathetic little girl who thinks my future husband is in love with her!" the woman threw her head back and laughed then in a most grating nails-across-board evil way! She looked straight at Emi smiling evilly at her.

"Were you enough of a fool to get yourself pregnant? Do you _love_ him?" she taunted and laughed. Phillip was the one who answered.

"Kamo has a responsibility towards our friend! He has to answer for it!" Phil insisted angrily but the woman just laughed. The thugs in their black matching suits took a step closer to Phil and the women pushing one flap of their jackets aside to show the side arms on their hidden holsters. Suddenly Emi found her voice.

"I am pregnant and I do love him! Don't _you_ love him?" she suddenly yelled at her feeling angry and hurt with tears streaming down her face. The woman just continued to laugh.

"Love? Don't be ridiculous! Power is the only thing that really matters in this world! I've worked too hard to let a street rat like you take what's rightfully mine!" the woman replied in an angry self-righteous way then turned to her hired men and just as she was going to order them to act an old woman barged into the office.

"Honored Daughter! Here you are!" she greeted cheerfully and slightly out of breath then headed towards the beautiful woman who was about to have Emi and her friends quite possibly killed. The woman bowed but she looked both surprised and a touch nervous as she greeted her mother in law formally.

"Oh! You have visitors! How rude of me! I am Jun Kujacu! A pleasure to meet you!" the old woman bowed towards the beleaguered young visitors.

"They are just trying to get a donation for their church mother!" their host explained hurriedly as she shot Emi and her friends a meaningful glare. Phillip visibly swallowed back his anger and played along with the ruse. Vivian went along with him and Emi put in her own voice to support the lie. She could not allow her friends to come to harm because of her foolish mistake after all!

"Well of course we will always write a check for a good cause! Come children!" Jun entreated them to follow her and cautiously the three followed her out the door the three glaring thugs moving slightly out of the way to let them pass. Hillary began to whimper as her mother's tight fearful grip began to make her uncomfortable.

"Oh dear! Let's go to the kitchen! I'm sure we have a snack or two for the little one there!" the old woman said as she closed the door behind her. As soon as they were outside of hearing range of the office the woman pulled them towards the front door hurriedly.

"You must leave now!" Jun began fearfully "Oume is a very dangerous woman! She had her own brother kicked out of the house and disowned so she could control her family's estate! Who knows what she would do to you?" she added glancing furtively towards the direction of the office. She reached into the sleeve of her kimono to retrieve a large wad of bills then shoved them into Emi's hands.

"I'm so ashamed of my son! You look like such a nice girl!" Jun said softly holding Emi's face.

"I can't take this," Emi replied listless trying to push the bills back. The old timer firmly closed Emi's hands around it.

"It is all I can do! Take it as a gift for my grandchild from his grandmother!" she intoned proudly "I will do what I can to protect you from her but you must never return here! I'm sorry I wish I could do more," she finished sadly. She encircled Emi in a tight hug and released her.

"Now _GO_!" she urged and they all hurried out the door Phil pulling up the rear as he rushed the women out. Little Hillary continued fussing and whimpering as Vivian tried to shush her. They practically ran down the driveway and as Phil got everyone into the car he slammed his fist in frustration against the stirring wheel.

"Someday Vivian! Someday I won't let those bastards get away with this! Someday Emi!" he swore angrily as he started the car and drove away. Emi just stared straight ahead her heart growing cold and bitter. She too made herself a promise:

'Never again! Never again will I ever trust another man!' she put the wad of bills in her purse. She had to think on practical terms now she would need every cent she could get to raise her child on her own.

* * *

The kettle whistled snapping Hajime back to the present. He got up to bring the kettle and pour out the tea then sat in astonished silence. It was no wonder his mother had been so nervous when they ran into him at the expo!

"So I changed my name to Emi Davila and Vivian helped me get a fake marriage license and a new id to show at the hospital where you were born to keep social workers from taking you away from me! Phil even let me borrow his grandmother's wedding ring!" she concluded. Some parts of this he knew because Phil had told him long ago.

"In retrospect it was better that my father kicked me out of the house when he found out! That way I knew she wouldn't hurt them!" she added as Hajime poured some honey into her cup.

"Why didn't you tell me about the other part mom?" he asked softly but he had a feeling he knew the answer.

"I didn't want fear to keep you from living your life! I still don't but I know you are old enough to understand now and you have a right to know in case you need to protect yourself!" she declared proudly. Hajime sighed sadly. His mother had not put her life on hold for him but completely tossed it away!

"_I_ was the one who made the mistake it just wasn't fair that you would pay the price!" she stated firmly. She had given up even her own identity to give him a chance. He had always been grateful for her loyalty and strength but it wasn't until this moment that he understood how deeply her determination to keep him had been. With a grim determination she got up from her chair and pushed the play button on the recorder writing down the number as the man on the message barked it at her.

"I'll call Phil in the morning and set up a meeting! If anyone you don't know…"

"…shows up at my school or tries to talk to me I will ignore them and/or avoid them," Hajime cut off guessing what his mother was going to say. His voice was calm but his heart raged! He had no right! That man had no right to make such a disruption upon their peaceful lives! No right! The cup he was holding suddenly shattered into pieces. He looked down at his hands and realized that he'd been gripping the teacup so hard it broke.

"Hajime!" his mother shrieked and rushed back over to him as he got up from the table and opened the faucet in the sink. Tiny droplets of blood mingled with the water and disappeared. He mumbled an apology as he stood there trying to reign in his anger. His mother quickly rushed to get the first aid kit from the bathroom then pulled him away from the sink gauzing away the blood that slowly pooled from the little cuts on his fingers.

"Sit son," his mother said softly and wordlessly he did as he was ordered. Quiet reigned in the kitchen as his mother bandaged the little cuts on his hand and went about cleaning the tea and blood that had spilled on the table. It took him some time to find his voice once more.

"I'm sorry," he said once more. Angry tears stinging at his eyes. She had given up everything for him! Not just back then but everyday she did it! How many times had she denied herself some treat or trinket she desperately desired just to give him some thing he wanted? How many times would she go out of her way to make sure she was present at school functions or track meets? Never in his life could he say that he had wanted for anything because she would even go as far as taking food away from her own mouth for _him_!

"I'm sorry!" he whispered suddenly overwhelmed by an odd sense of unworthiness. He felt her grab him by the shoulders and shake him hard.

"Now you listen to me! I don't regret for an instant keeping you! So don't you _dare_ start feeling sorry for me!" she declared forcefully. It was a tone she used only when she was angry which she rarely was. She cupped his face in her hands forcing him to look at her face.

"If I had to do it all over again I wouldn't change a thing! You mean more to me than anything in the world! My life would be _empty_ without you!" she stated firmly and got up from her chair. She wrapped her arms around him pulling him close to her chest.

"I love you my son and I have _always_ been proud to be your mother!" she concluded softly. He sighed sadly as he leaned into her embrace. Of course he knew she would say that!

"I am proud to be your son mom…" he replied softly. The phone rang startling them both out of their tender mother/son moment and Hajime glared at the phone. His mother did not hesitate however it seemed as though she had found a new fountain of strength as she strode purposefully to the phone.

"This is Emi…oh hi Vivian!" she answered chipper once more "oh you saw him on the news! Yes that _was_ Victoria Stillwater! Isn't it exciting!" his mother chattered on with her best friend and Hajime relaxed. He couldn't deal with that man right now he wanted him far away from their happy lives!

"Hajime! Vivian and Phil want us over for dinner! Why don't you go get changed?" she ordered calmly. Hajime nodded calmly and went to his room. As he left his mother's chipper tone became more solemn as he heard her say to Vivian: _"You'll never guess who called today…"_

* * *

When they arrived at the Banks' residence in the elegant neighborhood of Bel-Air he was a bit shocked to see Hillary actually taking notice of him. Hillary was very stuck up and vain. She had always ignored him in the past. He figured her sudden bout of friendliness had to do with him being on TV with a famous person. He greeted her solemnly as he always did and the same with Carlton. He exchanged a more cheerful greeting with their little sister and their cousin Will who had moved in recently from Philly.

"Yo Haji! Wassup man?" Will shook Hajime's hand vigorously as they greeted each other and asked each other how they were doing. Finally Vivian and Phillip approached him after greeting his mother. Vivian greeted him with a warm hug and Phil patted him proudly on the back.

"You have certainly done well for yourself young man! Congratulations!" Phil's voice boomed proudly and Hajime's sense of pride over his achievements returned. They all followed their butler Jeffrey to the dining room and as they ate Hajime and Emi were bombarded with questions about Hajime's first official day as an Olympic athlete.

Slowly the sense of worthlessness that had invaded him dissipated as he shared in the company of their friends. He laughed as Will proposed later while they sat in his room chatting that he use Hajime's picture to sell t-shirts at his and Carlton's school. Hajime told him to call his friend Zack who already had the ball rolling on that scam! Not wasting any time Will ignored Carlton's protests that it was wrong to exploit such an honorable thing as Hajime's Olympic athlete status and wrote Zack's number down.

"I have to warn you though Tori will want her cut and she doesn't take no for an answer!" he warned Will solemnly. Most people thought that Tori was a little scary and Will was no exception. This news gave him pause for a moment but only a moment.

"I'm sure we can come to an arrangement," Will said softly but the mischievous glee in his eyes did not vanish. "Anyway did you meet any of Victoria's girls?" Will asked changing the subject. Hajime laughed and shook his head. He gladly shared the happier events of that afternoon banishing for the time being the man on the answering machine that had disrupted his happy day.

* * *

Phil laughed with wicked glee as Vivian and Emi stared at each other and Phil in confusion.

"Oh how I've waited for this day Vivian! I've been keeping score and boy is he going to feel the wrath of my come back!" Phil laughed. Emi sighed she figured Phil would react this way! Back then they were all poor college students. Emi in fact had to drop out in order to work to raise her son. They had no way to fight back against rich powerful people like the Kujacu's but such was not the case any more!

Phil was now a very rich and powerful defense attorney and Vivian was a highly respected college professor in one of the best universities in the country. They were among the elite of society and now Phil was in a position to take his vengeance upon the Kujacu's for how they were treated all those years ago! He would relish his moment of triumph which Emi was certain he'd been planning for years.

"Oh vengeance is sweet!" Phil laughed with maniacal glee. Emi shook her head but relaxed while Phil enjoyed his moment. Phil was no longer thin and handsome but he was still the likeable guy he always was. The large Santa Claus-like paunch and the bald head were the symbols of the good living Phil now enjoyed. He was wise, respected and loved. Emi would concede that Phil was the only man in the world that she would trust.

"Phil I know you're looking forward to payback but…" she began sighing heavily. Emi's greatest fear was what Oume might do to her son. They all knew she was vengeful and capable of anything. But that was not all she worked hard to raise her son! She and Hajime struggled together for years alone for all the things that they achieved!

"…and now he comes wanting to bask in the glory my son has won himself through _his_ hard work! It's not fair! I want him gone for good! I don't want him to have anything to do with my Hajime! Call me selfish but I will not share my son with him! He forfeited his right long ago!" she declared proudly. Phil just smiled and nodded.

"I figured you would say that!" Phil began. As soon as he had seen Hajime on TV Phil knew it wouldn't be long before that rat called. Phil has been keeping tabs on Kamo for years. He and Oume have two daughters but no sons. According to Phil's sources Oume can no longer have children so that makes Hajime the only male in their clan. Seeing that Hajime is a very accomplished young man obviously destined for great success he has become a very appealing heir despite his illegitimate status.

"Precisely Phil! Who knows what she might do to him? Remember what she said that power was the only thing that matters! She will see him as a threat to her power!" Emi interrupted her voice a touch frantic. Phil put a big reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Yes I remember! And I'll use that against Kamo!" he said with wicked glee in his eyes. His plan was simple he would make Kamo first pay through the nose for all the years he shirked his responsibility! Vivian cheered him on!

"There is no way he couldn't have known about Hajime before now!" Vivian pointed out. Its true all of Emi's professors in college knew Emi dropped out because she was pregnant. Vivian knew for a fact that Emi's Japanese history professor gave Kamo a rough time after they split up.

"I'll bet anything that he knew!" Vivian asserted angrily.

"He's got plenty of money so it will cost him and he'll have to pay all at once! Then once he forks it all over we'll make him sign a paternity waiver!" Phil announced and laughed maniacally. Emi allowed herself to relax.

"Yes knowing Kamo he'll try to win over Hajime by paying quickly and without much fuss…" Emi began. She knew very well that Kamo was a show off and wouldn't resist the chance to flaunt his money as a means of luring her son over to him. He would get a very rude awakening when he realizes that it takes more than money to win over her honorable son!

"But knowing that evil viper that he calls wife she will force him to sign it thus denying him his _prize_!" Phil laughed again in wicked glee "and should he get nasty and refuse to follow his _darling_ wife's advice I'll remind him that he took to bed a minor and there are laws against _that_!" Vivian put a reassuring hand on her friend's shoulder.

"But best of all since Hajime will no longer be a threat to her and her precious power your boy will be safe," Vivian intoned proudly. Now Emi allowed herself to smile. Her son would be safe plus his future would be provided for and that was really all she wanted in the end: for her son to live his life to the fullest without fear. She couldn't hope for a better ending than this for her sad tale.

"Phil, do you know what ever happened to Oume's brother? The one that Kamo's mother said she engineered to have disowned? And what ever happened to Kamo's mother?" Emi asked changing subjects. She wondered if Oume was really capable of going that extra level of low and actually killing her own brother to gain power. Phil thought about it for a moment.

"Well the old woman is fine living in their estate in Kyoto and as for Oume's brother… from what I hear he was re-instated some time after he got married," Phil began. He explained that he found out that Oume's brother Hannya had been disowned for having friends beneath his class. Through hard work and the love and loyalty of his friends and later his wife he put himself through college on his own. He returned only when Oume's mismanagement of her family's estate and their father's illness nearly caused the collapse of their family's fortune.

"So not wanting to go down with the ship she found herself a patsy! What a horrible woman?!" Vivian hissed. Phil laughed.

"But here's the thing: It backfired! Hannya Shinomori - Oume's brother - used what was left of the estate, took a gamble and founded Shinomori Electronics!" Phil laughed once more in wicked glee. Emi and Vivian stared in astonishment! Shinomori Electronics was one of the largest electronics corporations in the world. Its annual gross figures were in the billions! They made everything from common appliances like TVs and VCRs to high tech communication satellites. Emi laughed.

"Now Hannya is in control of nearly everything that gives Oume her posh lifestyle and oh how it must burn!" Phil laughed "especially since she was the one who convinced her father to toss him out!"

"Phil…what sort of people are Oume's brother and his wife?" Emi wondered suddenly worried what sort of influence they might have on this situation. Phil turned solemn suddenly.

"From what I know Hannya's wife died in a car crash ten years ago. She lost control of her car during a bad storm as she was driving home one night," Phil began solemnly. He explained that since then Hannya has been known to be a somewhat recluse completely mired in grief for his dead wife raising his son alone who was two years old when she died. That surprised Emi!

"Oh that's awful!" she found herself feeling suddenly sympathetic towards Oume's brother. Vivian echoed her sentiment and Phil nodded.

"From what I know he lives alone with his son Aoshi. He's something of an enigma but I don't think he'll give us any problems. He and his sister don't see eye to eye or at least that's what I've heard," Phil concluded solemnly.

"I'll try and see what I can find out! The scientific community might know more about him," Vivian interjected.

"Well then Phil I guess all that's left is for you to go ahead and put your plan into motion! But you have to promise me you'll make him pay your regular fees too!" Emi added with a twinkle of mischief in her eyes to match Phil's.

"Oh believe me he will pay!" Phil laughed "Oh how he will pay!"

* * *

I decided early on that I would use a soap opera style for this particular story. My focus is really the character developments not really plot. So if the plot seems too predictable it's because it's meant to be that way. So like in all good (or should I say bad?) soaps the plot is cheesy and/or mostly non-existent! Thank you for your patience and feel free to laugh at all the excessive corny-ness that is traditional of soaps after all I SURE DID! Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

Thank you for reading and reviewing!


	4. Power of Memory 1

_**Think of me…**_

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, Block buster video, Saved by the Bell or NHK's Shinsengumi!

* * *

**Chapter 4: The Power of Memory Part I**

* * *

"_I am the leader of the third squad of the Shinsengumi: **Hajime Saito**!" the man announced fearlessly and full of pride._

Hajime woke up with a start!

"That same dream again! It's driving me crazy!" he growled angrily. He'd been having the same dream since his first day of training for the past week and it was really getting on his nerves. His mother knocked on his open door before she came in with a worried look on her face. She sat next to him and checking his forehead for his temperature she asked him what was wrong. Reluctantly he finally decided to tell her…

"Hajime you should've told me this sooner if it was bothering you so much!" she said with a heavy sigh she reached her arms around her son and pulled him close.

"Son there is a very specific reason why I named you after him. Your father is a direct descendant of Goro Fujita aka Hajime Saito but that isn't the only reason why I gave you that name," she began. His eyes went wide at this new little revelation! She added that Hajime Saito was one of those rare historical figures that can truly inspire people no matter where they are from. She admired the strength of his convictions and by bestowing that name on her son she'd hoped he would have that strength too.

"My grandmother used to tell me that the spirits talk to us in dreams when they need to tell us something important. How did you feel when he announced his intention?" she asked finally. He frowned and thought about it for a moment.

"He was an enemy of the state and yet he didn't seem afraid? Watching him in that moment I wanted to _be_ him!" he realized with a bit of shock. To his further surprise his mother just smiled.

"You know Hajime Saito _was_ ordered by Lord Matsudaira to retrieve Kondo Isami's head to give him a proper burial after he was executed. I know none of the movies Tori rents has such a "history buff" fact," she paused letting him absorb this new information.

"Ok this is crazy! I am _not_ channeling spirits mom!" Hajime declared incredulous but obviously shaken as he threw his covers off him and got up. Its true there was no way that he would know that fact from any other source.

"Fine…but consider this son: Ever since last Sunday you have been acting strange. Your friends have called me saying their worried about you and even your coach called me in a panic because your time was quite poor yesterday," she paused for a moment as he shook his head and avoided her gaze digging through his drawers for his clothes.

"Hajime Saito was a man who never lost his convictions as a man of justice regardless of the hardships he lived or the changing times. Despite being on the losing side he became a hero perhaps that's something worth emulating…" she suggested calmly as she got up and left the room adding that breakfast would be ready in a few minutes.

Hajime stood there for a minute just staring into his drawer. Ever since Sunday he had been overwhelmed by a mounting sense of worthlessness! He couldn't measure up to the sacrifices his mother had made for him. She said to him that he was special but he was nothing in comparison to her strength. His fists curled up tight as he came to a new resolve.

'I may not be worthy of it now! But I will be! Someday I swear it!' he promised himself as he went to get ready for his Saturday practice. The words echoed once more in his mind:

"_I am the leader of the third squad of the Shinsengumi: **Hajime Saito**!"_

The force of the pride behind that statement infused him and banished the dark shadows of doubt that had been clouding his mind.

"Someday!" he promised himself one more time as he walked out proudly to join his mother for breakfast…

* * *

And the soap opera will continue after this brief commercial break!

Thank you for reading and reviewing!


	5. Power of Memory 2

_**Think of me…**_

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, Fresh Prince or NHK's Shinsengumi!

* * *

**Chapter 4: The Power of Memory Part II**

* * *

_Standing in the path of four men late at night in the old streets of Kyoto stood Hajime Saito alone about to fight a tall spear wielding warrior as the three other swordsmen watched. Hajime watched as his ancestor wrestled with indecision and doubts as he prepared himself for battle. He took his stance against the spear wielder and just as they were to deal their first blows a new voice entered the gathering._

"_Saito-kun let them pass!" intoned the deep serious voice of Kondo Isami. The impending battle was halted by the soon to be leader of the new Shinsengumi. _

"_I know you feel obligated towards Serizawa but haven't you done enough for him?" Kondo continued solemnly. Hajime could feel the heavy weight of guilt and doubt that suddenly burdened his ancestor as though their minds and hearts were connected. The men before him weren't just his co-workers they were his friends. The first real family he'd ever had! Hajime knew his ancestor didn't want to fight them. _

"_He's already prepared for it!" Kondo continued raising his voice in solemnly admonishment "it's a waste to lose anyone here now!" _

"_Don't fight him ancestor let them go…" Hajime found himself agreeing softly with the older man though he could feel the anguish in his ancestor. _

"_Let's stop fighting amongst ourselves…" Kondo continued and as Hajime Saito reluctantly sheathed his sword the tears that stung and threatened to spill from his ancestor's eyes flowed freely from Hajime..._

_-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

"We owe him nothing…" he found himself saying as he woke. As he got up to get ready for school he realized that he knew what the dream was about. The night that Serizawa was assassinated apparently his ancestor had sought to prevent it out of loyalty to Serizawa for some favor the man had done for him. But apparently his loyalty and respect towards Kondo was greater so he did step aside.

'What I don't understand is why I'm having that dream?' he wondered curious as he dressed. He would go to school this morning but he was to skip practice so he could go with his mother to Phil's office this afternoon.

This dream gave him an odd sense of foreboding. All the dreams he'd had before of his ancestor had always been dreams that showed him as full of pride and honor. Sometimes as was the case in his duels against the red head (dude?) and many other contenders: _arrogance_! Never had he encountered such self-doubt in his ancestor. He suddenly got the distinct impression that this was a warning of some sort.

'I'll ask mom later…' he promised himself as he hurried out the door to get to school on time…

* * *

Phil was as good as his word little over a week later a meeting was set up in the law offices of Phil's partnership. Early afternoon found him and his mother sitting in the reception area of the law offices. Kamo showed up on time dressed up in his finest. His viper of a wife was there too beautifully dressed in expensive couture and matching jewelry. She sneered in distaste at Hajime and his mother. In contrast Kamo eyed both Hajime and Emi with interest. Emi had drained every ounce of reserve to buy her son a perfectly tailored and expensive business suit.

"Remember to ignore anything they say," his mother whispered softly in Spanish as she adjusted his tie for the millionth time since they arrived. She had pulled out her best business suit (the one she saved for special occasions) and the few pieces of jewelry she owned. Proud as his mother was she would not allow anyone to say they looked like peasants!

"Well I guess little pauper girls can turn out princes after all!" Kamo commented in a smartass tone looking him up and down in a way that rankled Hajime. He opened his mouth to retort something nasty but his mother squeezed his wrist painfully and with a shake of her head ordered him to stop. Again she repeated softly to ignore him and explained that he was just trying to provoke him.

"He's testing you! Don't give him the satisfaction!" she urged softly being careful to speak only in Spanish. Hajime calmed somewhat and ignored the nasty comments that followed from his viper wife. His mother was the picture of calm ignoring any and all comments directed to her to the point where Hajime could see the irritation building in the two rich brats. He smirked in deep satisfaction…

"I wouldn't get too cocky boy! If it weren't for me your mom would still be hiding behind her daddy and you wouldn't even exist!" Kamo shot at him irritated at Hajime's lack of response. Hajime shot him an icy glare but just as he opened his mouth to respond a voice ancient and gruff full of pride floated words into his ears:

"_You owe him nothing!"_

He blinked in surprise as he recalled last night's dream. It had indeed been a warning! Hajime mulled it over for a second and recalled his mother telling him recently that she had been a shy prudish and obedient creature who always did everything her daddy said to do. In fact it had been because her father had liked Kamo that she continued to see him despite Phil and Vivian's warnings.

"That's right boy! If it weren't for me pulling your mother out of her sad little shell you wouldn't be what you are today! Don't you forget that!" Kamo insisted haughtily at Hajime's hesitation. His mother had told him as much but again by her own admission she would not have ever been truly happy. For as hard as their lives had been they had always been happy but his mother owed Kamo nothing! Again Hajime smirked triumphantly.

"You know mom for rich educated people they sure are petty," he remarked calmly to his mother being careful to switch back to English so they could understand. His mother smiled amused. Kamo's arrogant smirk vanished.

"Money and power doesn't necessarily make you wise," she replied calmly smirking in amusement. From the corner of his eye Hajime could see that both Kamo and Oume were absolutely seething. The situation presented a revelation to him: You didn't have to be rich and powerful to control your destiny! You didn't have to be those things to control others either you simply had to be quicker, smarter and more disciplined. They were very empowering thoughts!

After only a few seconds Kamo composed himself in fact he even chuckled lightly. He turned and said something in Japanese to his wife who was immediately incensed by what he said. An argument quickly ensued and Hajime suddenly regretted that he'd never learned Japanese. Perhaps guessing what he was thinking his mother suddenly began translating.

"He's saying that you will make a fine heir and that he doesn't care what she thinks or wants he's not relinquishing you," she began and continued saying that Hajime would bring him glory and recognition and he wasn't going to pass up that opportunity.

"Mother I didn't realize you spoke the language!" he replied surprised and deeply impressed dismissing for the moment the topic of the couple's argument. She smiled proudly and explained that she had learned it in her first semester at college and it was why she'd been teacher's pet with the Japanese history professor. He smirked again and nodded then turned to look at his "father" arguing with his wife. He thought about what his mother had translated

"I don't want to be _his_ heir," he stated simply. His mother breathed a sigh of relief nodding and smiling proudly at her more-mature-than-his-years son.

Phil came in then followed by Kamo's attorney. The other man did not look happy but Phil looked positively cheerful. It was easy to guess Phil had the winning hand and all that remained was a few legal formalities. Phil warmly shook his mother and his hand and invited them back inside to the conference room. With a quiet smirk of amusement Hajime followed. He sat quietly as he watched Kamo act magnanimous as he presented a check for nearly three hundred thousand dollars for back owed child support and attorney fees.

"Well now since that part is settled there is a matter of custody that my client wishes to discuss," Phil began as he pulled out several papers from a folder and handed them to Kamo's attorney. Kamo's smile vanished as Phil explained that Emi demanded Kamo sign a paternity waiver effective today.

"You can't shut me out Emi! I have rights!" Kamo growled at his mother pointing an accusing finger at her.

"You forfeit those rights when you dumped me for your rich princess," she retorted haughtily. Hajime smirked proud at his mother's spunk. She was small in stature but mighty large in spirit!

"You didn't even bother to tell me!" Kamo countered angrily.

"You might take that up with your _wife_ and the two gun toting thugs she greeted me, Vivian and Phil with when I did try to tell you," she retorted growing even calmer in the face of Kamo's growing rage. Kamo's wife snarled something nasty at Kamo in Japanese and Kamo responded with equal disdain. It wasn't hard to guess that she was telling him to sign and he was refusing.

Phil gloated silently occasionally exchanging a triumphant smile with Emi. Kamo's attorney pored over the documents with rapt attention obviously caught off guard by this new twist. Hajime laughed as it again occurred to him that despite their money and power it was he and his mother who were in control right now. He recalled what his mother had told him of the day Kamo left her and smirked mischievously.

"This clinginess is pathetic Kamo…" Hajime paused as the room suddenly grew silent. Kamo's eyes grew wide as Hajime calmly threw his words back in his face.

"Have you no pride?" he added again throwing the same words Kamo had spit scornfully at a then young and love struck Emi all those years ago. He smirked triumphantly as Kamo had to compose himself with visible effort.

"You realize boy that once I sign that paper you will be a _nothing_ for the rest of your life! Your passing up an opportunity here boy that will never come again!" Kamo insisted despite the venomous look on his wife. Whatever comments she was making sounded positively scathing despite Hajime not knowing the language. Hajime chuckled slightly and shook his head calmly.

"First of all my name is Hajime not _boy_," he began in what would come to be his trade mark arrogant all knowing tone.

"And second: It seems to me like you need this _nothing_ more than I need you," he taunted with an all knowing smirk on his face that would also soon become his trademark.

"Moron," he added and smirked triumphantly. He turned to his mother and smiled as he heard her giggle. Phil covered a laugh behind a fake cough.

"Of course you could refuse but I have here Hajime's birth certificate as well as Ms. Davila's birth certificate," Phil put in then handing them to Kamo's attorney. The man went suddenly pale.

"If you examine them you will see that it would put Ms. Davila's age at 17 at the time of conception even by minimum pregnancy terms for a live birth and yours at 20 Mr. Kujacu," Phil added calmly and explained that should Kamo refuse that a detective from the LAPD was in the other room waiting to arrest him.

"If you wish we could set up a paternity test appointment but since Mr. Kujacu is a high risk of flight person no judge will grant him bail," Phil added in a victorious tone.

"He would have to sit in jail until that time…Do you know what they do to people in jail accused of sexually assaulting minors Mr. Kujacu?" Phil concluded in a calm inquiring tone. Hajime almost laughed at the pale look on Oume's face Kamo was oddly unfazed.

"Birth certificates can be altered… How do I know that's not a fake? This means nothing," Kamo insisted still refusing to give up his prize. Hajime realized that Kamo could simple alter his own certificate in Japan and there would be nothing he could do about it. He turned to look at his mother and there was an intense hard look on _her_ face. She tensed and he reached out to hold her hand in reassurance.

This was a look that he saw often on his mother. Whenever things got tough his mother got tougher he could always count on that and it had always been a source of safety and well-being for him as a child to know his mother was always in control. It made him sad for a moment and for a moment he wished he could've known the carefree sweet and idealistic young woman she had once been. The one that could fall in love and be happy…the one Kamo destroyed with his betrayal…

Phil however was ready for this eventuality and turned to push a button on a phone sitting on the end of the table. He smirked triumphantly just before he opened his mouth:

"Mr. Shinomori… Did you get all of that?" Phil said calmly to the phone. A deep solemn voice emerged from the speaker and both Kamo and Oume went instantly pale.

"_To my family's utter shame… yes every word_," intoned solemnly Hannya Shinomori current patriarch of the Shinomori clan. The man switched to speaking Japanese and again Hajime regretted not knowing the language as Oume and Kamo turned an interesting shade of green! His mother listened intently to the conversation nodding in apparent approval of whatever the man was saying.

"Well who needs a smart mouthed brat around anyway?" Kamo retorted angrily and scribbled his signature on the paper. Emi sighed with relief and Oume smirked triumphant. Hajime squeezed his mother's hand in reassurance she smiled and squeezed back. He promised himself then and there that one day he would have the strength to protect _her_ in hopes that she might find a piece of that girl she lost.

'Perhaps I might find you someone more worthy to re-discover her with…' he thought finding it suddenly not only a good possibility but a necessity. He could stay with her only so long eventually he too would have to make his own way in the world… some day soon. He didn't want her to be alone then.

Phil thanked Mr. Shinomori and asked him to continue to hold on for a moment. Phil explained to Emi that he was still in Japan and had not come personally because his son's best friend was in the hospital gravely ill and he could not in good conscience leave his 12yr old son alone in such an emotionally vulnerable situation. Phil was absolutely certain that had the situation been different he would've come here personally.

"Well I'm just glad this whole thing is over!" Emi sighed with relief smiling at her son.

"For the only time in my life I find myself agreeing with a filthy little street rat," Oume sneered but before either Emi or Hajime could say anything Hannya Shinomori's voice roared angrily from the speakerphone. Again Hajime wished he could speak Japanese!

Oume turned bright red and protested against whatever her brother was commanding her to do slamming her hand on the table. Kamo began protesting as well but their protests apparently fell on deaf ears. Slowly both Kamo and Oume and their attorney stood. Not knowing what to expect Hajime shot to his feet and stood next to his mother's chair with a hand firmly on her shoulder.

"I apologize for my rash actions and rude behavior it will never happen again," Oume said softly and all three of them bowed deeply. Hajime stared in astonishment completely speechless!

"I accept your apology," his mother replied in a dignified tone. Oume still blushing furiously stood back up and angrily stormed out the door without another word. Kamo stood back up but stopped for a moment to look at Hajime's mother with a little too much interest. Hajime stepped forward as if to shield his mother glaring at Kamo silently letting him know he was not welcome. Kamo simply smirked and walked away with their attorney close at his heels. He opened his mouth to ask something but Phil signaled him to stop.

"_Mr. Banks I thank you for your assistance_," came the voice of Shinomori who now sounded less commanding and more tired.

"It was a pleasure dealing with you Mr. Shinomori! It's a relief to know that one member of your clan has a sense of honor," Phil replied solemnly.

"_Thank you…Is Ms. Davila and her son still there?_" he asked tiredly.

"_Ms. Davila I regret that am not there now to present my own apology in person but as soon as I can travel I intend to_," he began solemnly.

"If it's all the same to you Mr. Shinomori let me just accept your apology and extend my own gratitude for your assistance _now_ and let us be done with all this business so we can go back to the more important task of raising our children. Nothing against you personally Mr. Shinomori but I'd rather not have to deal with your family ever again and I'm sure you understand why," she replied equally solemn. Shinomori sighed tiredly again.

"_Of course I regret that you feel that way but I understand…_" he paused again and Hajime for a moment regretted that he wouldn't get to know this guy. He seemed pretty cool.

"_Then please Ms. Davila accept my deepest and most sincere apology and as for my assistance I am certain that it was insignificant compared to what I know you suffered and sacrificed because of my sister and my brother in law_," he intoned gravely.

"Well as far as I'm concerned your sister did me a favor by showing me your brother in law's true colors…" she paused for a moment to consider how to end this conversation.

"_Mr. Banks I apologize to you as well threatening the lives of children and the integrity of a family is an unforgivable crime_," Shinomori added solemnly before she could speak again.

"I agree Mr. Shinomori but while I understand and respect my client's wishes my wife and I would be honored if you stopped by for tea next time your in Los Angeles," Phil replied solemnly. Emi stared at him in shock.

"_Thank you Mr. Banks I will try_," Shinomori replied and he sounded as surprised as Emi looked.

"_Now I must leave you thank you again Mr. Banks… Ms. Davila and Mr. Davila again I apologize for everything rest assured my sister will cause you no further problems_," Shinomori added.

"Mr. Shinomori I would also ask you to please keep an eye on your brother in law…I didn't like the way he looked at my mom and I'd just as soon prefer he stay away from her," Hajime put in seriously then. No he had not liked at all the way his ex-father had leered at his mom before they left.

"_Really? Well then it seems I shall have a __**talk**__ with my brother in law soon_," Shinomori suggested and the hard tone in the man's voice satisfied Hajime. It was really too bad he would never get to meet him.

'Oh well such is life,' he thought as final goodbyes were exchanged and Phil hung up the phone. Phil called for the secretary to bring Emi's check in and as they waited Phil explained that the check Kamo presented was made out to the firm and the firm would be separating her portion from Phil's fees.

"Phil… why in the world do you want to meet that man? Are you crazy?" Emi shot out at him as soon as she recovered from her shock. Phil seemed unfazed.

"Several reasons Emi: a) he's a powerful man and his business would certainly benefit my firm b) he's honorable and did make a real effort to make it up to you and he would've done a lot more if I'd let him but I know how proud you are!" Phil lectured mildly. Emi seemed a bit embarrassed but said nothing.

"…and most importantly Emi _he_ is not his sister and he and his son don't deserve that we judge them with the same measure as her," Phil concluded solemnly.

"I became a lawyer to prevent things like that from happening Emi," he added as the secretary walked in and took the check Kamo had brought and left a small white envelope with the check written out to Emi.

"You really thought of everything Phil," she said softly as she picked up the envelope pulled out the check and just looked at it. Phil smiled and put a large reassuring hand on her arm. She finally smiled and hugged Phil tearfully thanking him for all his help. Excitedly she began counting all the things they could do with the money starting with replacing his college money and getting a car for Hajime.

"Nope I want the SUV! My board fits better in it," Hajime put in Phil just laughed enjoying the afterglow of triumph.

"Well ok I guess I can buy something else for me," Emi thought out loud. Hajime and Phil looked at her with suspicion. Knowing how frugal his mother had a tendency to be he knew left to her own devices she would buy something small and cheap.

"But you have to let me pick it!" Hajime insisted. Phil put his hand on the check.

"Technically Emi most of it is his so he should have some say in how it's spent," Phil added knowingly. Emi rolled her eyes.

"Fine you can pick my new car Hajime…" she conceded amused. Hajime laughed and kissed his mother in the cheek.

"Ok! Now come on if we hurry I can still make it to practice!" Hajime suggested feeling full of energy and determined to win. Phil invited them to come to his house on Saturday and as Hajime pulled his mother away the two of them cheerfully promised they would be there. He made a mental note to ask Phil then if he could arrange for him to meet Mr. Shinomori. He knew his mother wouldn't approve but he didn't want to hide anymore!

"But after practice!" Hajime called out as they left. Phil laughed as he sat in the conference room alone for a few more minutes. He pondered on all the years of hard work and sacrifice it had taken him to get to where he was today. Some days it didn't feel like it was worth it but today…

'…Today it was definitely worth it!' he thought satisfied and picked up the phone to dial his wife's office.

"Vivian we did it…" his wife excitedly congratulated him and he gladly promised to tell her all about it when he got home…

* * *

Hannya rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly as he hung up the phone. The night had been long and he was tired but he had promised his son that he would stay close to the phone in case Victoria called in any changes in Misao's condition. Misao was Aoshi's best friend at school. She was a cute cheerful and likeable 10 year old who had charmed not only his young son but his entire staff as well as himself.

"I should check on her…" he said to himself picking up the phone to call the hospital. However as beautiful a child as Misao was her father was her exact opposite. He had condemned Misao to many years of abuse and neglect before Hannya and Aoshi intervened. In fact Hannya had discovered her home conditions because he had actually arrived at her house as her father was beating the poor child to within an inch of her life.

"Hello…" Victoria said softly as she picked up the phone immediately. He asked how she was and Victoria said her condition for now had not changed. Needless to say Hannya had intervened on Misao's behalf and Misao's father had a broken jaw and concussion to remind him what happens when you mess with the Shinomori clan and their friends. However Misao lay in critical condition with very little hope that she would survive. Victoria had been the only one of the adults around her allowed to remain overnight with little girl.

"So what happened with my friend Emi," Victoria asked her tone hard and commanding. Hannya sighed tiredly feeling deeply the sting of the shame that his sister and his brother in law had inflicted upon their family. When Oume had come to tell him about Emi Davila and her son she had painted a picture of a slut looking to take a piece of their wealthy. If Victoria hadn't been there he might've believed it.

"I have paid the sum demanded by her lawyer as well as his fees," Hannya replied tiredly. It had been Victoria who had extracted the real story out of Oume and he was so deeply ashamed that he would've handed Ms. Davila half his estate if it would cleanse the stain of dishonor Oume and Kamo had placed on their family. Victoria however was right about Ms. Davila she was much too proud to take anymore than what was owed to her from back-owed child support calculated according to current minimum California standards.

"Good! Did your sister apologize?" Victoria demanded and Hannya did not miss the note of anger in her tone. Victoria was quite fond of Emi Davila and her son and had been deeply offended by Oume's insinuations. Everyone in the world of high finances knew that it was _**never**_ a good thing to offend Victoria Stillwater!

"Yes but she fought it the whole way just like you guessed she would," Hannya replied fatigued and related the conversation hoping it would appease her. Victoria chuckled softly as Hannya explained Ms. Davila had demanded Kamo sign a paternity waiver. To Hannya that had been the worst blow! The demand demonstrated most conclusively that Ms. Davila and her son were honorable people who should have been treated as respectable members of the family. It pained him deeply that such honorable people did not want any part in his clan.

"It pains me Victoria…that young man Hajime he would've been a good influence on my son and my nieces," he added tired and sad.

"Give it time Hannya…Emi is scared and I don't blame her but all things can be accomplished with a little patience and perseverance…" she countered in a soft pensive tone. A tone that Hannya would come to know as her "scheming" tone…

"As for Hajime…you should accept Phillip Banks' invitation to his home. I will call Mr. Banks and see if I can arrange for you to meet with Mr. Davila," she concluded firmly.

"Are you sure he will want to meet me?" Hannya asked. Victoria was silent for a moment.

"Yes…I have a feeling he might be as interested in you as you are in him…patience Hannya I will take care of it," she insisted and after saying goodbye and promising to see each other later when he dropped Aoshi off she hung up. Hannya sighed heavily and looked at the time. It was nearly 6am his son would be awake by now getting dressed and gathering his books and other items he would need to pass the time sitting with his beloved little friend waiting for her to wake up.

"Such dark times…" he said in a sad heavy tone to the empty room as he got up. He hated the thought of his son sitting in that room alone for hours waiting. He prayed his son would not have to face the worst in there.

"At least not alone…" Hannya added pausing to look at a picture of his wife sitting on the mantle above the fireplace. He turned and left wishing not for the first time that his wife Rinoa was still alive…

* * *

Emi tossed the keys to the car to her son and climbed in to the passenger seat. She was so happy she felt like she could fly! Hajime quickly removed his tie and jacket before climbing into the driver seat. Cheerfully they discussed going house hunting next weekend but both agreed they would stay in Bayside and on getting something close to the beach.

When they arrived home both quickly changed and to Hajime's surprise his mom took the rest of the day off to go to his practice. As they drove there Hajime recalled his dream. He recounted for her all the details of the midnight encounter with the Shinsengumi members describing each one because he did not know their names except for Kondo. She seemed very surprised by the fact that Saito had not participated in the assassination.

"The small one I'll bet that was Okita! Rumor has it that he and Saito were best friends. The pretty boy that has to be Hijikata he was definitely there when Serizawa was assassinated…hmm," she paused for a moment to recall what she knew about the Serizawa assassination.

"The one with the spear has to be Harada so that leaves the last one to be Yamanami," she concluded almost to herself then shook her head.

"Everything I ever read said that Saito was one of the swordsmen ordered to assassinate Serizawa…I should do some research…" she thought out loud as they got out of the car. Hajime noticed a light in his mother's eyes. It was as if the prospect of investigating a subject that she couldn't understand brought back a little of the girl she had been. He confirmed this as he handed her the car keys and she smiled at him excitedly.

"I'll be at the PV library! I might find something there!" she called back to him as she cheerfully bounced back into the SUV. As she started the engine she stuck out her head out from the driver side window and called to him that she'd be back in about an hour. A familiar motorcycle roar entered the parking area and Haijme looked up to see Tori letting A.C. Slater off her motorcycle. He laughed as Tori held out her hand waiting for Slater to pay her for the ride to his practice. That girl was ruthless and that was just the way he liked it!

"Forget it mom! I'll go with Tori!" he called back. His mother glanced in the direction Hajime was looking and laughed.

"I'll see you at home! Have a good practice!" she replied waving as she backed up her car and drove away. He smiled content watching her brake for a second to say hi to the surprised Tori who immediately parked her bike and rushed towards him. Slater was not far behind.

"Hey how'd it go?" she asked excitedly as she joined him but the smile on Hajime's face was the only answer they really needed. Slater patted him in the back and suggested that he go with them to meet Zack, Screech and Kelly at the Max later.

"The preppy cooked up a new scam and he wants us to hear about it," Slater said as Tori got back on her motorcycle.

"You can tell us all the gory details of the smack-down with your old man there!" Tori added as she started up her engine again. "I'll go tell preppy he'll need to come and pick up AC!" she leaned over to kiss Hajime and roared away. He chatted amicably with Slater as they went inside to begin their practice…

* * *

Ok I had stopped writing this for a while there because I had to be careful with my timelines. Almost all my stories merge with one another and its tricky keeping all the timelines in sync. Fic Reader I'm glad you enjoyed this one. To tell you the truth I'd nearly forgotten it! I am putting this one chapter up but I think I will wait until I finish Tokio's side before finishing this one. This story actually has more of a merging point with "To be the Strongest" and "I want to be a Princess" than "The Place where I belong" so I really have to hit certain story points in the first two before I can finish this one.

However as you'll soon see this chapter will make for some very interesting situations during the Saturday Night Ball on "Place where I belong"! You won't want to miss it!


	6. The journey begins

_**Think of me…**_

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, Fresh Prince or NHK's Shinsengumi!

* * *

**Chapter 5: The Journey begins...**

* * *

The days went by quickly and summer fast approached. They decided to put off the house hunting until after the Olympics so Hajime could concentrate on his training. His coach was in tears of joy over the leaps and bounds Hajime was making in his training. Inspired by Hajime, Slater redoubled his efforts on his training and was also making astonishing progress. Zack was running an underground betting pool on what medals Hajime and AC would win because there was no doubt in anyone's mind that they would win.

Near the end of the school year, as he was ending his Saturday morning practice Phil showed up at his school. His mother had not come to his practice today because Victoria Stillwater had returned to the US and she had been as good as her word. As soon as she returned she invited Emi to her house in PV. Phil was not alone there was another man with him. They sat at the stands watching Hajime practice. Curious, Hajime approached them after practice as he left the locker rooms waving goodbye to Slater. He greeted Phil amicably the older man smiled and introduced the man with him.

"Hajime I want you to meet Hannya Shinomori," Phil introduced solemnly. Hajime approached boldly and shook the man's hand firmly. Apparently Hajime's attitude pleased the man because he smirked and nodded in approval.

"It's good to meet you Mr. Davila," he greeted in a deep solemn tone.

"Likewise Mr. Shinomori, though I'm not so sure how happy my mother will be when I tell her I met you," he replied non-chalantly trying to see how the man would react. To his surprise a bit of sadness seemed to settle on the man's face. However he had in mind what he wanted to say to these people. He wanted them to know he and his mother were people of pride and honor. They did not need or want the approval of the Shinomori Clan!

"Why does it bother you? According to your sister my mother is a filthy street rat and I am no different," Hajime inquired in a calm matter of fact tone. Hannya flinched and Phillip frowned.

"Hajime, I did not bring Mr. Shinomori here so you could take out your anger on him!" scolded Phillip his voice booming out of his broad chest.

"Then why are you here?" Hajime asked calmly unfazed by Phillip's scolding. Hannya smirked for a moment catching on. The boy was testing him.

"My sister and I have very different ideas about what defines a person as honorable," Hannya replied solemnly.

"So you came here to see if we fit your definition of honor?" Hajime asked genuinely curious. Hannya smiled and shook his head. Hajime frowned confused.

"No. You and your mother have already demonstrated that you are honorable people," Hannya began with a smirk. He was pleased with the strong and fearless attitude of this offshoot of the Shinomori clan. He was certain the boy would be an amazing influence on the other children of his family!

"I came because I am the patriarch of the Shinomori clan and as such it is my duty to know the names and faces of all those who share my blood!" Hannya concluded solemnly. Hajime looked up at him with open curiosity.

"But I'm not related to you…I'm related to Kamo," Hajime replied unwilling to call Kamo his father. Hannya sighed his heart heavy with sadness. He just wanted the boy to understand.

"The same blood that flows in your veins flows in my nieces. No paper can ever deny the fact that you are their brother and therefore my nephew. So, as the head of the family I must assume responsibility for the dishonorable deeds one member commits against another and see that our family honor is restored by atoning for those misdeeds," Hannya intoned solemnly. To his surprise Hajime chuckled slightly and smiled up at Hannya. After all, the boy was just testing him!

"You know 'I'm sorry' would've been much easier than that mouthful," the boy teased but Hannya relaxed. The boy was obviously not harboring ill will towards him which meant their might still be a chance for his nieces and his son to meet Hajime. Phil chuckled relieved.

"I should've known you'd pull a stunt like this!" Phillip added ruffling Hajime's hair. Hajime smirked amused but turned to Hannya solemn again.

"Mr. Shinomori I don't hate you. I don't hate my little sisters either," Hajime began solemnly. Hannya nodded relieved and hopeful. He had called them sisters and that was a good sign.

"I hate your brother in law for abandoning my mom but I hate your sister most for what _she_ did to my mom," Hajime added unable to keep a touch of anger out of his voice. Hannya was crushed.

"Hate is an ugly thing to nurse," Phillip counseled sagely. Hajime just shrugged.

"Maybe, but I'm just a kid. I'm sure when I grow up I'll know better but until I'm older and stronger and I can protect my mom… I prefer that you and your family stay away," Hajime explained not without a little sadness in his voice.

"I give you my word that your mother will not be harmed!" Hannya countered horrified of what this boy was saying. Hajime smiled sadly.

"I know your intentions are sincere but you can't guaranty that…you can't say for sure that your sister might not hand 100 bucks to a junkie in LA and tell him to go kill my mom and me because you've been bringing me to visit your nieces and your kid," Hajime pointed out his tone resentful.

"I would not allow it! I would do whatever it takes!" Hannya insisted angrily and yet he knew better than anyone that his sister was capable of such viciousness just to get what she wants. Hajime smiled sadly.

"Thanks! I know you would. You seem like a nice guy and all… but how about we do it my way for a while, please?" Hajime insisted and Hannya saw a longing in the boy's eyes that broke his heart. He was certain Hajime wanted to meet his sisters and have them as a family. He probably even longed for a father too! The loneliness in Hajime's eyes stung Hannya and he had never been angrier with his sister then at that moment.

"I understand," he sighed resigned. There was really nothing he could do. He had no real way to reassure him that his mother would be safe. According to Phil, Emi Davila and her son had been abandoned by everyone except for Vivian and Phillip. Ms. Davila's father had tossed her out into the street for shaming the family with her out of wedlock pregnancy. She hadn't spoken to them since before Hajime was born. According to Phillip they trusted no one but each other and Hannya could sympathize. He would feel the same way in their place.

"Here…I want you to have this," Hannya said suddenly searching in his pockets for something. He pulled out a picture and handed it to Hajime. There were two very pretty little girls and one very serious boy in it.

"Mai is the little one," Hannya pointed to the five year old. The other girl he pointed to was his eleven year old sister Hana and the boy was Aoshi; Hannya's twelve year old son.

"We had this one taken during the family reunion at the Shinomori Estate in Domino City not long ago," Hannya explained adding that he hoped to bring Hajime there someday to meet them. Hajime didn't seem to register his words as he stared intently at the photograph as though trying to burn the image of the three kids into his brain.

"Your kid looks just like you," Hajime commented with a sad smile. Then the boy shook his head and handed it back.

"I can't take that. My mom would be upset if she saw it," he said solemnly.

"It's just a picture," Hannya insisted his heart breaking at the thought he couldn't bestow on the boy even the smallest token of his family. Hajime shook his head firmly and forced the photo back into Hannya's hand. Phillip nodded in approval as a proud father, he knew that Emi would be upset to see all those children in that picture and know that her son belonged among them yet was excluded because of one woman's vicious greed and petty anger.

"No, it would hurt my mom's feelings," Hajime countered firmly.

"Thank you for coming all this way. It was really nice to meet you. I better get home now," he added gravely. He said goodbye to Phil and hurried away without another word. Phillip frowned as he let Hajime go. They watched the boy in grave silence as he got in his SUV and drove away waving at them as he did.

"Many have been the times when I've been angry with my sister…" Hannya began sadly.

"But I have never had cause to hate her!" Hannya concluded his fists shaking with barely restrained anger crumpling the picture that had been forced back into his hand. Phillip put a comforting hand on Hannya's shoulder.

"All wounds can be healed with time," Phillip advised wisely. Hannya shook his head.

"I hope so…" he replied sadly and the two men walked away. Hannya had hoped to converse with Hajime about his life and his goals to get to know him at least a little. Maybe even help him along the way! However it seemed he now would have to rely on only what Phillip would tell him…

* * *

Hajime's heart was racing! He was too upset to go back home and going to the beach was not an option with Zack and most of his friends there. He drove up the hill to Palos Verdes. There was a small park there that hardly anyone ever went to, especially on a beach day like today. He arrived at the park and just as he predicted there was no one there.

He got out of the car slamming the door harder than was necessary. He ran up to a big tree at the edge of the cliff of the tiny park that overlooked the ocean. He sat down and watched the water quietly thinking of the little girls on the picture. He had not expected to feel this way! He had fully expected to look in that picture and not give a damn.

'But I did!' he thought angrily. He wasn't able to stop the tears that ran down his face. The littlest one had a sad look on her face that just did not belong on a small child. Hana, he had noticed there was a small trace of fear in her eyes despite the charming smile on her lips. The boy had a sad look that was just like Hannya's but Hajime could understand. Aoshi's mother had died when he was very little and according to Hajime's mother Hannya was still very much in love with her. He was certain they both still grieved her loss.

He had been possessed then by a desire to meet them. He wanted suddenly to hold his little sisters and tell them everything would be alright. He wanted to shield them from the things that frightened them or made them sad. But he knew he could not! He was powerless to protect anyone! Not even his mom! It was the most horrible feeling he had ever experienced!

Heart-wrenching sobs tumbled out of Hajime. Conflict raged in his heart. Part of him was angry for caring so much about people who likely hated him for existing yet part of him ached to be loved by them. He tried to tell himself that even if he met them, those girls would be told all sorts of lies about his mother and he and they would never like or trust him let alone love him!

'It's no use…I'm just too weak…' he thought trying hard to rid himself of these feelings yet failing miserably.

_You're not weak…_

A voice floated towards him saying those three words with incredible confidence and strength. He looked around but there was no one here. However the voice was reassuring. He had heard it before many times. Sometimes in those dreams of feudal Japan and once in Phil's office: It was the voice of Hajime Saito – leader of the third squad of the Shinsengumi. He calmed down and concentrated hoping to hear the voice again.

'I'm must be going nuts!' he thought and yet desperately wished to hear it again. He heard a slight chuckle.

_You're not crazy or weak…just young and untrained…_

'Are you Hajime Saito? Are you my great-great grandfather?' he thought but before he could say so out loud the voice laughed again not in mocking but in delight.

_Very good! You really do pay attention!_

'Why are you here?' he asked realizing it was unnecessary for him to say things out loud.

_Well isn't it obvious? You need my help if you're going to win pup! _

'You've come to help me, how?' he asked. Again he heard another chuckle of amusement and delight.

_All in good time…just relax little wolf cub everything will be alright…_

The voice of his ancestor spoke with such confidence that Hajime suddenly felt that everything really would be ok...

* * *

When Emi came home some time after lunch; she found her son surrounded by books at his desk in his room. He barely looked up as she entered his room. The remains of a fast food lunch were in a small bag at his feet.

"How come you're not at the beach with the others?" Emi asked puzzled by Hajime's abnormal intensity. Her son was usually very responsible but not to the point where he would miss out on having a little fun with his friends.

"I'll see them later at the Max…felt like getting in some study time since the neighbors aren't home," he replied absently as she sat down. She noticed there was still food in his bag.

"Do you want me to warm that up?" she asked. She could tell something was wrong. Hajime always studied when he was upset. She could tell something was bothering him. He looked confused for a moment then remembered the bag at his feet.

"Oh no…it's fine! Thanks!" he said going back to a very complicated math problem. She sat on a chair next to his desk quietly for a few moments watching him work. In time he would tell her what was wrong. She just had to be patient. Several minutes went by then finally Hajime began to speak.

"Saw Phil today…he came to visit me at practice," Hajime began in an attempt to sound casual. Emi however was not fooled. The visit had upset him somehow.

"Oh! And what did Phil say?" she asked casually pretending she didn't notice the tension in his voice. He shrugged, not looking up from his math problems.

"Not much…he was with some new friend," he replied in a seemingly disinterested tone. But to Emi who knew all about her son she recognized instantly that this "new friend" of Phil's had caused the disruption in her son's usually calm disposition.

"What did his friend say?" she asked very calmly. Hajime however would be able to recognize the tone. It was the tone she used when she caught him fibbing.

"He brought Hannya Shinomori…he came to say he was sorry about his sister that's all," he responded sounding a little defensive but he still wouldn't look up from his work.

"And?" Emi prompted knowing full well he was hiding something from her. He tensed and frowned. He was not going to give in very easily.

"And nothing! I said thanks and I left! That's all!" he replied tersely on full defensive now. He grumbled under his breath as he discovered a mistake and had to erase a large chunk of his work.

"He might've talk to Phil longer. He seemed like a nice guy but I don't know! I left after he made his little speech about the dishonorable deeds of his sister!" he grumbled angrily still sounding very defensive as he fussed with his homework. Finally he gave up on that paper and ripped off the page on his tablet to start fresh. He grumbled something about Prof. Dewey always demanding the work be presented neatly. He complained bitterly that he would get points knocked off for blotchy work.

"Oh I see…well that was nice of him," Emi replied softly feeling a little like a jerk. She understood now why her son was upset. He had wanted to talk to Mr. Shinomori. Very likely the man had treated him with the respect she and Hajime hardly ever got. Perhaps he wanted to hear about his little sisters or their cousin. Hajime had always wanted a family. He had always envied his friends. They had cousins, siblings and grandparents. Hajime had none of those things.

'I'll bet he even offered Hajime the opportunity to meet his sisters…he always wanted a sister,' she thought sadly but realized he must've turned him away because of her.

"Did he say anything else?" she probed softly. He shook his head and replied more calmly that he had left rather quickly. They didn't really get to say much to each other. He even managed to sound uninterested. Had he been talking to anyone but his mother it would've worked. The man had probably offered him an equal place with the rest of the children in his family. It twisted her heart with grief to deny him but her need to keep him safe overruled it. She decided to change the subject.

"So I was visiting with Victoria and she asked me a favor. I wonder if you and your friends could help," she began. He finally looked up then with a casually interested look on his face.

"Sure. What did she want?" he replied evenly. She quickly explained that Victoria would be bringing a little girl from Japan soon with her. The child was severely injured and would be undergoing a very long and painful rehabilitation process. She was ten years old and had been beaten nearly to death by her father. Her mother committed suicide recently and her father was currently on trial but would be going to jail for a long time. Little Misao was the granddaughter of Victoria's friend whom she had rushed to aid not long ago.

"Victoria doesn't know any nice young people who could come and visit with little Misao at Victoria's estate. Just to keep her company every now and then. I was hoping you and your friends could?" Emi concluded.

"Sure mom! Absolutely! You know Kelly and Jesse will be all over it!" he replied immediately and added he would tell the others later when he met them at the Max. The door bell rang as they talked some more about Misao and her situation. Emi opened the door to the exuberant Tori. Soon Hajime was rushing out the door to see his friends. Leaving Emi alone to deal with the conflict in her heart…

* * *

Well slowly we continue…


	7. A rose hids in the thorns

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, Fresh Prince or NHK's Shinsengumi!

* * *

**Chapter 7: Tokio interlude #1: **

_**The Rose that hides in the thorns…**_

Tokio Takagi was a pretty girl of about 16 years but you wouldn't know it if you looked at her. Dressed in scruffy looking baggy jeans, a puke green oversized jacket and yellowish construction boots sporting a bad grungy boy-like hair cut, she looked like any other teenage grungy boy living in LA. When most pretty girls her age thought of boys, clothes and make-up, hardworking Tokio thought only of getting the highest grade in her class, making the rent and having money to buy food – in that order!

Lately though she didn't worry about food or money so much. She was headed today – as she had for the past 2 weekends – to the mansion of the very rich and famous Victoria Stillwater. Her new boss: Jonathan Nightraven – head of corporate security for Stillwater Enterprises – gave her the chance to work on weekends helping clean up after Ms. Stillwater's parties aside from the light filing she did at his office two days a week during the week. She liked the job. It was easy and it paid really well. If she added this weekend's pay with the past 2 weekends she had made enough money to pay her rent.

'I never would have thought that being stood up by that idiot boy would've been so rewarding,' she thought amused as she rang the intercom on the service entrance. She didn't have to wait long. Mr. Byron Meir was on duty and greeted her with a big fatherly smile on his face. She liked Mr. Meir and Mr. Nightraven they were good old guys who didn't criticize or judge her choice of lifestyle. They were always nice without being overbearing.

Tokio had gotten a part-time job with Mr. Nightraven after she raised a ruckus at the main Victoria's Secret store. As the head of household maintenance gave her, her duties she smiled as she remembered the circumstances that led to her working here…

* * *

_To say Tokio was feeling low would have been an understatement. She had been talked into going on a blind date with the brother of a classmate of hers. She agreed on the condition he pays for the dress. The date in question was his brother's senior prom. His parents were concerned that he wouldn't pick a decent date for such a momentous occasion._

_So Tokio bought a dress at Victoria's Secret who was having a sale. She got gussied up and looked as cute as any other girl her age. She cleverly hid the price tag hoping to return the dress if it wasn't dirty. So she had gone to meet her classmate's parents and the boy in question. Col. Bauer and his wife were extremely pleasant people who were very impressed by her. The boy however looked less than pleased. He looked at Tokio like she was some kind of worm that he had to swallow. _

'_But I did promise…a promise is a promise,' she thought. The truth was though that since she did not get to go to high school she was actually looking forward to experiencing a prom. She thought of those teen movies were the nice girl goes to the prom with the wrong guy and ends up finding the love of her life._

'_Wouldn't that be wonderful,' she thought allowing herself a moment to daydream like a normal teenage girl. But it was not to be. The boy excused himself in a rude fashion making some excuse about going to his room to get ready and while she made small talk with his parents he snuck away and did not return. Tokio in fact was the only one to notice him sneaking away. _

_She excused herself in the refined manner she had been raised with and headed into the bathroom – grateful that she had brought her regular clothes with her – and changed. Col. Bauer looked very surprised when she emerged in her street clothes and he was exceedingly upset when he realized his son had acted so badly. He insisted he drive Tokio home but Tokio steadfastly refused. He was really trying hard to atone for his son's misbehavior. Tokio could tell that he was sincere but one humiliation was enough for one day._

_

* * *

_

It was when she tried to return the dress to get the money back that she met Mr. Nightraven and Ms. Stillwater. Ms. Stillwater had helped her get her money back and Mr. Nightraven had offered her a job. She accepted because he paid more than the fast food joint she worked nights in. She changed into the gray overalls that were the uniform of the house's maintenance staff. She headed towards her assigned section.

Today was a little different. She was helping with the recovery from the night before but Ms. Stillwater was having a brunch party with some business associates this morning. So she was just to keep a low profile and do some spot cleaning in designated areas away from the main courtyard in the back of the house. Her assignment was the library. Tokio almost squealed in joy when she was told she did not have to hurry doing this section and to be very thorough. She had longed to explore that library! It was so beautiful!

She spotted three girls her age standing in the foyer who were giggling excitedly about being in the mansion. Tokio knew this kind because Mr. Nightraven had told her all about them. They're the beautiful and bright girls Ms. Stillwater scouted for later inclusion in her catalog once they turned eighteen. She usually steered clear of this type. They were either stuck up and vain or WAY too cheerful and nosy. Either way she always ended up burned dealing with these girls.

'Just ignore them,' she admonished herself. Putting the trio out of her mind she passed by them quietly. She said good morning in a solemn manner deepening her voice a little to accentuate her boy disguise.

"Oh wait! Wait!" said one of the girls – a tall blonde with curly her – she wore tight jeans and a conservative blouse that still managed to look attractive. It was unusual for girls her age. Tokio thought she would dress like that if she were allowed to be a normal teen girl. Reluctantly Tokio turned back to speak to her.

"Excuse me…we're sorry to bother you. My name is Jesse Spano and these are my friends: Lisa and Kelly," she began in a surprisingly serious manner. The other two girls simply smiled and said hello. They were still distracted by the house.

"We're here to visit Ms. Misao Makimachi. Ms. Stillwater asked us to come but we don't know what room she's in," Jesse added politely. Tokio smirked a little. She knew who they were talking about. Tokio was going to start coming twice a week during the weekdays starting next month to help little Misao improve her English.

"Ms. Misao isn't here yet. She's not due to arrive until next month," Tokio replied in a deep tone. Suddenly the girl seemed embarrassed and wondered aloud way they had been summoned then if the child wasn't there yet. Mr. Meir saved her the trouble of answering when he arrived and let them know that since they would be coming to the mansion regularly he need to issue id cards. Tokio also knew Mr. Meir was going to interview them to make sure they would be an appropriate visitor for their little guest.

'I thought I had it bad,' thought Tokio as she excused herself. That poor little girl had been beaten to within an inch of her life by her own father! That was something Tokio could proudly say _her_ father would've never in a million years done or allowed. She ignored the cheerful chattering of the trio of girls and walked away towards her assignment.

She entered the library and set to work she cleaned the desk and all the furniture in the room first. Then she dusted the mantle and the glass doors in front of the fireplace. Then she cleaned the windows. Getting all that done first let her take her time on the books. With a deep sigh of satisfaction she climbed the step ladder and pulled a book out.

"Oh my…" she gasped as she read the cover of the very old leather bound book. It read: "Tea time with the Queen". Tokio knew this book! It had been missing from the collection that she hid in the secret caves under her home in Aspen. She remembered when her father had auctioned it. The proceeds had gone to a local children's charity. Her grandmother had been particularly upset because she did not approve of the winner of the bid.

"Now I understand…" Tokio said to herself as she climbed down the ladder. Her grandmother had a deep hatred of supermodels and rock stars. She called them whores and thugs with no real talent other than selling their bodies to support their vices. She sat on the floor behind the couch, tucking herself away from sight. She opened the book relishing being able to read this first edition copy of Janeway's first book…

* * *

Time seemed to stand still for Tokio. She had tucked herself in a little corner of the library completely out of sight. She let herself remember the time she had sat on her father's lap with her baby sister and listened to him read from a copy of this book. She had read the book a million times but it was more for her memories of home that she read it now. Two men came in to the library but Tokio took little notice of them. They weren't her supervisor so she didn't bother to acknowledge them.

"If she thinks she can keep me from my prize she's _**dead**_ _**wrong**_! I'll teach them a lesson! Nobody messes with me and gets away with it! Who do they think they are? Nothing without me that's what! I'll teach them that!" ranted angrily one of the men. Tokio now sat very still listening carefully. Her brain screaming 'Danger! Danger! Danger!' She dared not make a sound so very quietly she pushed herself further into the little hole between the shelves, behind the couch.

She listened with mounting horror that as they plotted to kidnap someone. From what she was hearing a custody battle had gone against the angry man and he obviously was gonna take matters into his own hands. He would take the boy – they didn't use names but she determined as much – from his mother during a vacation in Spain. He would then take the boy to his country where the child's mother would have no legal rights to him.

'Bastard!' she thought determined to do something to help. She could tell by the man's foul language and the drunken slur in his voice that the child and his mother were better off without him! But Tokio was a smart girl. She wasn't gonna jump up and give a righteous high morals speech. She stayed quiet in her little corner committing to memory every detail of their plans.

"I better get back to the party before I'm missed," the angry drunk man said and the two men finally left…

Tokio waited a few minutes before getting up from her hiding place and running full tilt towards the guard house desperate to get to the only two people who could help her. When she got there Mr. Nightraven and Mr. Meir were alone there watching the cameras and discussing some upcoming trip to Japan to pick up little Misao. Breathless, Tokio spilled her story to them. They frowned with concern but Mr. Nightraven looked as though he had expected something like this.

"Could you recognize their voices if you heard them again?" he asked watching one of the security screens.

"Absolutely!" Tokio replied immediately. Mr. Nightraven smirked.

"How good are you at serving?" He asked as he ushered Tokio out of the guard house towards the kitchen. Tokio explained she was quite well trained when it came to entertaining. She could do it easily. He smiled mischievously at her and got out a spare waiter uniform and told Tokio to change.

Once she did he fixed her hair so she wouldn't look so much like a grungy boy and gave her instructions on what signals she would need to send once she spotted the people she had heard in the library. He attached a listening device inside the collar of her uniform and handing her a plate of croissants he sent her out to the garden in search of the would-be kidnapper…

Victoria spotted pleasantly surprised when Night's new protégé joined the ranks of her waiters out in the garden. Night had become very fond of the girl so she doubted he had relinquished her to Victoria. She was likely doing some sneaky bit of work for him. The girl was a good choice. She was doing as good a job as even the most seasoned of her waiters.

She did a surreptitious scan of the crowd and spotted Night in a little dark corner watching Tokio like a hawk! Victoria noticed when Tokio sent her prearranged signal because Night left his corner and cut through the brunch crowd like a shark in the water. Victoria excused herself from the people she was speaking with and she made her way slowly towards where Night had stopped to talk to a man with Kamo Kujacu.

By the jovial way in which Night spoke she could tell something was _way_ out of place. Night was only nice to strangers when he wanted them off guard. Then he would kick them in the gut hard because they would not be expecting it. Kamo must've done something rotten to attract that kind of attention from him. Not that Victoria wasn't planning her own vengeance!

'I haven't forgotten!' she thought angrily remembering what Oume did to her new friend Emi.

'Unforgivable!' she thought vengefully but she smiled pleasantly. After all Night had been her mentor once too. Smile and you can get in closer to plunge that knife in deeper. "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer!" was something he had always counseled. Oume was going out of her way to be nice. She knew Victoria was vindictive and wanted to make points with the woman in any way she could. It won't help her though. Victoria spoke to them briefly and continued to make the rounds wanting to end this party soon so she could find out what was going on…

Victoria finally made it back to her office after all her guests had left. Tokio had been excused from the cleaning duties since she had spent three hours serving at the party. Someone else would finish her job.

"Will you relax? Everything's gonna be alright!" Night tried to assure Tokio as Victoria took her seat behind the desk.

"How can I relax? I heard some drunk guy planning to steal someone's kid! That's horrible! I don't understand why we aren't calling the police!" Tokio protested.

"Listen kid! NO ONE is taking someone else's kid! Not on my watch!" assured Night in a deep solemn voice.

"And over my dead body would I allow such a thing," Victoria added. Tokio just shook her head. Obviously she didn't believe either of them. Victoria understood the girl's disbelief. Many had promised her things in the past but they had turned their backs on her and abandoned her to torment and solitude while punishing those who wanted to help her.

"What can I say to assure you?" Victoria asked but she knew nothing but action would convince this girl of Victoria's good intentions. Tokio shook her head.

"Can I go home now?" she asked in a soft defeated voice.

"Of course," Victoria hid a pained expression and Night got quietly out of his chair. Tokio was damaged almost beyond repair. Her defenses were nearly impenetrable. Getting her to believe in them would take a very long time.

'If it's even possible,' she thought as Night walked Tokio out taking the envelope with her pay out of his jacket pocket as they left. He would drive Tokio to the bus stop and drop her off. She swore to herself that she would see to this matter _personally_! She would find a way to reach her little lost child. She would never give up!

* * *

_**Two months later…**_

Tokio was back at the mansion as she always was on weekends. Today she was to serve a private lunch to Ms. Stillwater and a friend of hers. Ms. Stillwater liked her as a waiter more than a cleaning girl. Tokio liked it too! She made more money that way! She led a very nice petit lady to Ms. Stillwater's private porch. The two women greeted each other warmly.

"So Emi how was Spain?" Victoria asked as they sat. Tokio frowned remembering an incident a couple of months before. She tried to put it out of her mind as she put the dishes on the table and served the orange juice and tea. After all, neither Ms. Stillwater nor Mr. Nightraven had mentioned it again after that. Tokio didn't want to imagine a mother out there crying for her lost child. Their not mentioning it again could only mean they failed to protect the child.

'No surprise,' thought Tokio who was used to being disappointed by adults. She had a friend in law enforcement. She had considered dropping him a note…but then she thought better of it. Dealing with her had only gotten him in _**a lot**_ of trouble and it nearly cost him his career. She knew Agent Gibbs would help her but it would hurt him more than was fair.

'Right now I'm weak but some day I won't be!' she assured herself. She promised herself that someday _she_ would be strong enough to _protect_ the weak.

"It was wonderful!" Emi replied and she continued elaborating that she and her son had a wonderful time. While Emi went on and on about the wonderful time she had in Spain Victoria shot a look to Tokio.

Tokio stopped and listened 'Could this smiling happy woman be the woman that drunken man had been speaking of?' she asked herself. Tokio mouthed the question to confirm but Victoria turned back to her friend.

"So Emi…I know this is a strange question but has your son's father given you any trouble since the custody battle," Victoria asked. She shot Tokio a quick glance to get her to pay attention. Tokio nodded and listened carefully.

"Now that you mention it…no," began Emi. She explained he had sent an expensive gift for her son's birthday. Her proud son of course returned it untouched. But since then they had heard nothing. She explained since she had forced the paternity waiver on him she had expected him to act out in some horrible way but he had done nothing.

"Good! I have assurances from his wife that neither he nor she will be making further contact with you or your boy," Victoria added. The lady relaxed and expressed her gratitude. She was not surprised that his current wife would want him away from his previous life. She wanted nothing to do with that family either that much Tokio could gather. Who could blame her? The man was an awful person! He was handsome and was apparently somewhat charming – considering how many people were hanging out with him at the party – but this lady and her kid were better off without!

She finished setting the breakfast dishes. With her heart suddenly renewed with a tiny bubble of hope she returned to her duties in the kitchen. Night was waiting in the kitchen. A sly smirk on his face let her confirm that this little job had been set up to prove to Tokio that they were as good as their word. She felt a little embarrassed but purposefully walked towards her boss intent on apologizing for doubting him.

"I have a new job for you!" he announced pulling her out off the kitchen.

"And don't you dare apologize to either me or Vicky! You were right to doubt. It was a smart assumption. After all as far as you know I'm just a security guard who specializes in chasing away paparazzi and she's just an underwear designer right?" he added with a sly grin on his face. Tokio smiled a little. She had a feeling her boss had enjoyed proving her wrong.

"An assumption I don't think I'll ever make again," Tokio added feeling a little more cheerful. He explained he was promoting her. Mr. Meir was getting too old and couldn't travel with him anymore.

"I need an assistant with some people skills. You have people skills. I've watched you, you're trained," he declared. Tokio had the distinct impression that this was a job offer she could not say no to even if she wanted to. From now on she wouldn't be going to the office anymore. She would be on call for events at the mansion or elsewhere that Victoria would need to be present.

"You will have to travel a lot but I know your school has "Study Abroad" programs. I can make sure you get credit," he added excitedly. They were headed out to his car now. Tokio needed a traveling wardrobe. He was pleased to know she had an up to date passport. She had gotten it just before she left home. It would be good until her 18th birthday.

"There are 2 conditions: first, don't call me or Byron "_Mister_" anymore and second, you're gonna have to look like a girl when we're abroad otherwise it'll make my job harder," he added. Tokio frowned. She did not feel comfortable calling her boss by his first name.

"Just call me Nightraven. That should make things easier no?" he insisted with a mischievous grin. Well, that was a little easier to handle. He explained that most of the time they would be traveling as a father/daughter combo. It made Victoria's more shifty partners at ease when Night was accompanied by someone young.

"I have to check on some of her partners to make sure they're staying on the straight and narrow," he explained. But he promised the learning opportunities would be extremely beneficial. In exchange he would pay school and living expenses as well as clothing allowance and provide housing for her on campus. She could continue to earn extra money with Vicky's parties and the tutoring job she did now.

"We will be going to Paris next week and we'll be there a month. Smart girl like you could pick up a little French while we're there," he added with a grin as they arrived. Tokio could barely contain her joy! She would never have to suffer hunger or sleep in alleys when she didn't have money to pay for housing! On top of that Nightraven wanted her to start some special training.

"Every employee of Silverleaf has to know how to handle guns even if you never use them. You're going to have to learn. I'll certify you myself," he said as they arrived at the main Victoria Secret store at corporate headquarters. Tokio never went in the store because the manager still didn't like her. Besides there was nothing here that could be useful for her disguise.

She did make friends with a couple of the clerks though and chatted with them often. Night went in first while she said hi to the clerks and started looking around. Night had also told her on the ride down that she could continue wearing her boy disguise at home if she wanted. Tokio had explained that until she could afford a car she had no choice.

He told her he could take her to get her driver's license once she was ready. That way she could help him with some of the driving errands but that part could wait. The manager came over to Tokio smiling and sucking up to her. Night grinned like the Cheshire cat. She told the two clerks that were friends with Tokio to help her with whatever she needed.

'What do you know? I guess summer wasn't a total loss!' she thought looking forward to this new and exciting chapter of her life…

* * *

A/N

I threw this in 'cuz there's a chapter coming up in Place Where I belong that will explain more how Agent Gibbs was once involved with little Tokio. I hope to be updating more now. I got laid off from the bank so I went back to school. I should be able to put up more things now despite my full time schedule at school I don't feel as drained as when I was at the bank. And I have a little more for myself beyond the sleeping and eating time I used to get while at the bank. The family sure appreciates me being around more even if we are getting less money. We'll manage!


	8. Intersections

Think of me…

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, Fresh Prince or NHK's Shinsengumi! And I don't own any Iron Weasels! How nice of Disney to create a show that provides me with not only perfect character archetypes but also a name I can totally link to Rurouni Kenshin! Well, Saito really who loves to call Misao a weasel! LOL! Awesome!

**Chapter 8: Intersections…**

_May 1992…_

Zack Morris – con artist extraordinaire of Bayside High – made his way to a 6am meeting with Victoria Stillwater. Normally only unusually large waves could make him get up this early on a Saturday morning but love does strange things to a guy! His little business venture with the t-shirts had yielded enough money to pay for their plane trips and their stadium tickets along with meals if they didn't go anywhere too expensive. The only problem was that there wasn't enough money for decent rooms or local transportation.

Mr. Belding had shut down his operations before he could get all the cash he needed. He was forced to return all the money from the betting pool which really would've made a difference! If he couldn't come up with money for rooms in the same hotel as Ms. Davila was staying then Kelly would not be allowed to go. That was just not good enough! He was not going to a super romantic place like Spain without his main squeeze! So here he was about to meet with Victoria to broker a deal to get them the rooms they needed.

'Ok focus,' he thought psyching himself up for the meeting as he made his way up the front steps.

"Sign in before heading to the library. Ms. Stillwater is waiting for you there," said the security guard as he let Zack in but his brain was working another rehearsal of his presentation and he was so focused on it that he forgot the guard's instruction almost right way. A hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Hey man, you didn't sign in," said the owner of the hand gruffly. He turned to face the person speaking to him.

"Oh sorry," he answered a little confused. The person stopping him glared at him with suspicion. He or was it a she? In all honesty Zack couldn't be sure and it threw off the clever comeback that sprang to his mind. "He" wore baggy jeans, dirty steel toe boots, a short messy looking haircut and a puke green jacket that smelled of gasoline and dirt.

"Here, all guests have to sign in! No exceptions," he – she? – said as he shoved a pen into Zack's hand. He tried not to feel uneasy as the grungy – boy? – continued to glare at him while he signed the book.

"Do you know where you're supposed to be?" he asked obviously annoyed. This guy's attitude was really starting to bother Zack.

"I have a meeting with Ms. Stillwater! What about you?" he retorted with equal suspicion and annoyance. But rather than getting a rise out of him the guy suddenly smirked with amusement.

"I work here," he replied with a mocking little smirk tugging at the side of his mouth. It annoyed Zack even more but before he could retort a snappy comeback the guy just turned around and walked away.

"Ms. Stillwater's in the library, down the hall to the left," he/she called back ignoring anything else Zack might've wanted to say. He shook it off not bothering to see which direction the guy went. He needed to concentrate so he put the annoying androgynous person out of his head quickly and went in search of the person he actually needed to see.

"This must be it…" he said softly to himself recognizing her voice coming from the library. He approached quietly and solemnly taking a moment to calm himself before knocking on the door. He raised his hand to knock when he heard a familiar name. He stopped and listened wondering why Victoria Stillwater would be discussing his buddy Hajime with a voice he'd never heard before.

'Wait…did I hear that right? Someone is trying to kidnap Hajime?' he thought in disbelief 'And they're not calling the police?' he realized and angry now he barged into the office…

Hannya sighed in resignation biting back the anger he felt. It would not be productive after all. He would find a way for Kamo to pay for this latest insult to the family honor. The idea that Kamo wanted to take young Hajime from the only home he had ever known was – in one word – disgusting! He could not allow this. However, Victoria was trying to worm her way into taking control of this situation and as good a friend as he considered her to be he could not allow her to interfere in family affairs. This situation had to be handled in house by him and no one else. Unfortunately for Hannya, what Victoria wants she gets…

"I cannot thank you enough for warning me of this Victoria. Rest assured Kamo will be dealt with," Hannya added emphatically though it was obvious to Victoria that he was not going to let her interfere. She knew all Hannya could do was confront him about it – Kamo would of course deny everything – and cut him of financially for a short period of time. This would not do!

"It was my pleasure. This transgression began in my home and it is my wish to see it rectified," she replied ominously. She hated bullying her way into this but Hannya's pride was getting in the way of her doing what needed to be done. Kamo's overblown ego had been severely injured in the custody battle and cutting him off financially would never be enough of a deterrent! He wanted to punish Emi and having less funds would simply make his attempts more desperate and violent. She was absolutely certain of _that_!

"I assure you it will be! I appreciate you not contacting the authorities," he added solemnly. Again this would not do! Victoria frowned and exchanged a glance with Night who signaled her that Zack had arrived and – as planned – was listening in on this conversation as they spoke. Victoria took a deep breath and waited for Zack to burst in and begin phase 1 of her plan to save Hajime and punish Kamo. As predicted Zack angrily threw the double doors of the library open and stomped to her desk.

"What do you mean: not involve the authorities?" yelled Zack indignantly slamming his palm on her oak desk as he spoke. She nodded in solemn agreement with Zack and silently pointed him in the direction of the voice on her speakerphone. She hated shaming Hannya into this but she needed control to do what needed to be done.

"If anyone wants to take him they're gonna have to hurt him! Don't you get that? He won't come quietly and its gonna cost him his future! Maybe even his life! What's wrong with you people?" he continued relentlessly his fists now shaking with anger "and here I thought _I _was the disreputable one!" Zack concluded with a hurt and angry look in his eyes that went straight to her heart. But she couldn't help feeling pride too! Hajime had chosen an amazingly brave and loyal friend. She would keep an eye on this one! He was going places. And his performance had been perfect! He couldn't have done better if she'd scripted it. That last bit had really clinched the deal for her.

"Did you get all of that Hannya? Mr. Morris is absolutely correct!" she began in a hard tone making obvious now her displeasure. She was angry after all. Angry at Kamo for his trespasses, angry at Oume for her lies and angry at Hannya for his excess of pride at all the wrong times! Politely, she invited Zack to sit. He seemed slightly mollified by Victoria's anger and agreement with him so he took his seat. Quietly he listened as she explained who was on the phone with her and his relationship to Hajime. But Zack couldn't hold his tongue when she explained it was Kamo who wanted to kidnap Hajime and take him to Japan where Emi's sole custody and paternal rights waiver would mean squat!

"That dead beat sperm donor doesn't want Hajime! He's just pissed off because my buddy told him to take his money and go to hell!" Zack spit out with disdain. Victoria smirked at Zack then turned once more to the phone.

"I couldn't agree more Mr. Morris. Hannya you know as well as I do that there isn't anything really that you can do that will actually have a lasting effect on Kamo and having fewer funds to draw on will only mean he'll hire cheap cutthroats and thugs! That will put the lives of not only Hajime and his mother in danger but also anyone else connected to them," she paused here and with a gesture stopped Zack from continuing his indignant tirade. She wanted they're words to sink into Hannya and let him come to the obvious conclusion on his own.

"Alright…you win…What do you want from me?" Hannya finally replied sounding angry and defeated. Victoria had very little sympathy for him. Her children had to learn their lessons and she preferred to apply her tough love rather than watch them fall to ruin.

"I want your word that you will say nothing to your brother or anyone else! Leave everything to me and my people," Victoria informed him solemnly. There was a long silence and Victoria could almost feel his frustration and anger.

"Very well, you have my word. Kamo will not find out that we know of his plans," he finally agreed then with a brusque goodbye he hung up.

"That went as expected…thank you Mr. Morris, he was being rather difficult," Victoria began with a sad smile.

"So you used me to get him to agree to your terms…clever," Zack pointed out coolly but by now his little con artist brain had already seen her angle and had begun searching for a way to use it to benefit his cause. Zack was a practical guy. Hajime or AC might've felt their honor besmirched and Screech might've felt hurt by being used but not Zack. His body relaxed as he sat back on his chair and answered her smile with his trademark mischievous smirk. Night laughed as he came over to sit next to Zack.

"Why did you really agree to see me?" he asked with a sly grin. He knew that he could gain more by listening for now and if he didn't like their plans he could share this info with Slater's dad. Victoria of course had already thought of all the angles Zack might try to use and was ready for him. She began by explaining how they had come about the information on the kidnapping attempt.

"I can't tell you the name of the young lady who brought us this information; she put herself at great risk to do so," she replied solemnly when Zack asked who had told her about the kidnapping plan.

"Hajime is gonna ask," he began in protest.

"No he won't, because you're not gonna tell him about any of this!" said another voice that judging by the look of surprise on Zack's face, he had not noticed him. The man detached himself from the dark corner he'd been standing in and approached the desk.

"May I present special agent Jethro Gibbs of NCIS. He is a friend of our informant and has agreed to assist us," Victoria introduced him. Agent Gibbs merely glared down at Zack and said nothing. Victoria quickly launched into her plans about luring the mercs into attempting the kidnap from a location that would be completely controlled by her people. They would leak to the group where Hajime would stay. Zack's job would be to keep the group on a specific schedule on the day of the operation.

"To keep them safe and unaware it is important we know where your group is at all times!" Victoria stressed.

"Before I agree I want to know what's in it for me and my people," Zack replied with a calculating look in his eyes. Night laughed but Agent Gibbs was not amused.

"You're friend gets to come home in one piece you ungrateful little bastard," Gibbs growled at him. Zack looked up unfazed.

"Really? Well I guess I'm done here then and I can go to my buddy's coach and tell him what I found out, and Hajime's godfather: Phillip Banks might have a few ideas on what we could do about this and while I'm at it I'll call Col. Slater and stop by AC's house on the way home and tell him _**all**_ about it!" Zack shot back with a hard look on his face. Agent Gibbs raised his eyebrows in surprise and smirked at him. Night laughed loudly!

"I like this kid!" he said laughing "he speaks my language!" and continued to laugh giving Zack a pat in the back. Night was the kind of guy who could be counted on to ask "what's in it for me?" when honor would've made other people refrain from asking!

"Zack, I think this is going to be the start of a beautiful friendship," Victoria said with a smile…

* * *

_July 1992_

Emi felt like she was walking on air as she stepped off Victoria's private jet. Victoria had asked her to come along and help her chaperone the kids she had invited to come along with her. Zack Morris was the mastermind of this operation. He had exchanged babysitting hours for Misao Makimachi for a plane ride to Spain. He had secured 2 suites in the five-star Still Waters Hotel in Madrid for him and his friends to share. She would be sharing a large suite with Kelly, Lisa and Jesse. The boys would share a smaller suite until Hajime and AC joined them after their competitions. The boys would move to a larger one then and share with Hajime.

"I don't know Victoria, isn't this just a little too much," Emi said to Victoria as they followed the excited teens off the plane, the math did not add up. Zack had secured accommodations that were way out of their original budget and according to Emi's calculations Zack could not possibly afford a two week luxury vacation in Spain – all expenses paid – with just a few months of babysitting. It was making her feel guilty about taking so much and giving almost nothing back. Victoria sighed loudly in exasperation.

"Honestly woman! The boy _earned_ it!" Victoria insisted obviously annoyed now. She pulled Emi aside for a moment as Screech pulled out his camera and tripod and began to set it up.

"While you're here, do me a favor Emi: please enjoy yourself," Victoria lectured solemnly "you owe it to Hajime," she concluded in a solemn tone. Her eyes bore into Emi and her comments hit home for sure! Hajime constantly stressed over the "nickel-and-diming" they did every day of their lives just to get by. It had pained her to sign the work permit so he could afford his surf board and other teenage expenses. To top it off she knew Hajime felt guilty for all the things that Oume did to her.

"You're right," she admitted 'I do owe it to him and myself!' she thought knowing that a luxurious vacation like this would go a long way towards releasing her son from that irrational guilt. Of course when she stopped to think about it her guilt was just as irrational! After all, she hadn't asked Victoria for anything and if she thought sponsoring their little trip was proper compensation for babysitting, who was Emi to argue? She was long overdue for a little enjoyment.

"I'm always right!" Victoria laughed then the two women turned to Zack – who was now calling them for the group photo at the bottom of the steps of the jet. Screech set the timer and hurried over to take his place with his friends. She promised herself that she would enjoy every minute of this. Later that evening she could hardly breathe for how proud and excited she was when Hajime stepped out onto the field with his team. A shot of him – with AC and a few others of his team – popped up on a large screen briefly as he waved a little American flag and smiled cheerfully.

Emi took a deep breath and smiled. All the hardships and grief of the last 16 years finally melted away at that moment. She knew that from this day forward life would be sweet. She was finally at peace…

Hajime woke early on the morning of his big race. He did a few light stretches before hopping in the shower. His mom called as he was getting dressed. She just wanted to wish him good luck again and remind him that he was a winner no matter what happened. Somehow that still didn't make him feel any less nervous about today.

"Thanks mom! Love you too! Bye mom," he replied trying not to sound as nervous as he felt. He hung up and finished getting dressed. The sun was rising on the tracks when he and his team arrived on the track. Athletes everywhere were preparing for the track and field competitions. He stretched and paced occasionally stopping to chit chat with athletes from other countries who – just like him – were trying to find ways not to feel so nervous. He didn't dare look up at the stands; the stadium was full to capacity! The presence of his friends and family among the hundreds of people there made him feel even more nervous.

They were finally calling him up to the start. His race was about to begin. He took deep steadying breaths but his chest felt tight with uncertainty. The last thing he wanted was to make a complete ass of himself in front of the whole world!

'_Relax cub…you will be fine!'_ whispered the ancient voice of his ancestor then. Suddenly he felt the pressure in his chest ease. His ancestor had not spoken to him since that day in the park. He began to suspect that he would only ever hear the old man when he was in the most desperate need of reassurance and/or guidance.

'_Hajime, I believe in you,'_ his ancestor added with pride and confidence. With each step he took towards the starting line he felt his nervousness disappear. He was ready to race…he was ready to win!

He felt strong at the beginning of the race. He began in the top 10 and slowly crept up to the leaders. However towards the final leg he could feel his strength begin to fade. The leaders were powerful runners and it was all he could do to maintain his third place. Panic and despair began slowly to take hold of him as the gap between him and the leaders suddenly began to widen. He pushed himself to go faster as the gap between him and the fourth and fifth place runners shrank.

'I can't go home without a medal!' his frantic mind screamed.

'_Calm down cub! You have the power you need! You can win this!_' advised the super confident voice of his ancestor.

'How do _you_ know?' his mind screamed back in disbelief.

'_Because you are my heir! My one __**true**__ heir_' old Hajime replied as he materialized before young Haji. Dressed in a hakama, a white with light blue zigzag stripes haori coat and sword strapped to his belt, he struck such an imposing figure that Hajime lost his balance and fell. He rolled off the fall and was on his feet again without missing a beat. He never realized he had fallen to 5th place though until after he watched the videos of the race.

'_Come and discover your true power! Follow me and claim your inheritance as the last wolf of Mibu!_' his ancestor ordered as he extended his hand out to Hajime.

Suddenly the stadium and all the people in it – even his competition – seemed to vanish! There was only him, the track and his ancestor standing just beyond the white strip of the finish line. With hands behind his back and chest pushed forward he broke through the strip, took a few steps then collapsed with exhaustion onto the track.

'_Well done young wolf! You are the last __**true**__ wolf, finally one who's truly worthy,_' his ancestor added proudly. Joy spread through him as he realized he was surrounded by people. He blinked hard against the glare of the multitude of camera flashes aimed at him. His mother pushed towards him past the photographers.

"I won mom, I won," he told her breathless.

"And I won the day I had _you_: my precious and beautiful son!" she exclaimed tearfully.

"I am so proud of you!" she added weeping tears of joy holding her son tight. Hajime chuckled a little but allowed his mother to hold him despite all the photographers around them. Finally the two runners who had been ahead of him before pushed their way through the reporters to help Hajime to his feet, a knowing smile on each of their faces.

"The spirits of your ancestors are powerful!" said one with a touch of awe in his voice.

"Come and let us thank our ancestors for their help today together!" said the other. Hajime smiled at them and arm in arm with his two new friends and rivals he jogged a victory lap…

* * *

Hajime rose early but quietly. AC was in the next bed over and was still asleep. It had been already a couple of days since his medal ceremony but he was still riding high on that cloud of victory. AC managed a silver medal in his event and everyone was in high spirits. He pulled open the curtains to step outside on the balcony and look at the city below. They had moved out of the Olympic village and were at Victoria Stillwater's 5-star Madrid hotel.

He was sharing a large suite with AC, Zack and Screech. He flexed his leg a few times to test out the large scab forming over it. It turned out to be nothing more than a really big – yet very superficial – scrape but his mom had made a huge deal of it. The Olympic committee doctors had been much the same and insisted on taking x-rays and testing for infection and his mother encouraged them with much vigor.

He chuckled just thinking about it. His mother had been in a very cheerful mood too though. He was glad for that. She told anyone who would listen how he won! It felt good to make her so happy. He took a deep breath enjoying the sunrise for a few minutes then went back inside to shower and get dressed. AC was still snoring so he quietly grabbed his clothes and headed to the bathroom. His buddy was still fast asleep when he got out of the bathroom. He sat on his bed to put on his socks and sneakers when Zack burst into their room.

"Good morning champions! Rise and shine!" he called out cheerfully. AC grumbled annoyed as he startled awake and threw a pillow at Zack who skillfully dodged it. Hajime chuckled as Zack talked about the wonderful day of sight-seeing they were going to enjoy today. AC grumbled but got up. Zack had promised lunch by the beach and none of the boys wanted to miss those sights!

"Oh and make sure you guys wear your Team USA uniforms! More easily recognizable that way!" Zack cheerfully suggested congratulating Hajime for being one step ahead and putting his on today. Haji was no dummy! He intended to squeeze every drop of attention out of his fifteen minutes of fame that he could get! As they waited for AC to get ready Zack gave him a rundown of today's itinerary.

Zack had really gone the extra mile for this trip! He wore this morning yet another Victoria Secret employee polo shirt and beige pants. According to Zack, wearing a uniform made the job feel more official. He gathered up several small maps from the table and put them in his little sack. Zack had made himself the tour guide for their visit to Spain and he had taken his job very seriously!

"OK let's go downstairs and wait for everyone! We can save them a nice table for breakfast," he cheerfully suggested as he explained that he had talked to Kelly and the girls were almost ready. They would come down with his mom. Hajime thought this was a good idea so the two left calling back to Screech that they would meet him and AC downstairs.

Zack's heart thundered with excitement and fear. Nightraven had warned that things could get ugly if he didn't stick rigidly to the schedule. He had relaxed a little when he realized that he didn't need to make up any stories to get Hajime out of bed before everyone else. Feigning that he forgot his sunglasses, he ran back into his bedroom. His hands shook as he dialed the phone to let Nightraven know they were heading out.

"We're ready," he said simply and hung up after Night acknowledged him. Night's detailed instructions floated up into his memory as he and Hajime headed out the door.

"_First thing you'll see is a waiter pushing a cart down the hall right past your door. This will be the merc informant,"_

Right on cue - as Night had said - he saw a waiter pass by with an empty cart. Zack ignored him as Night had instructed though Hajime called out a cheerful good morning to him in Spanish. The waiter startled but recovered quickly and smiled pleasantly, he replied with an equally cheerful greeting then continued casually down the hallway. Zack noticed a little nervous twitch on the waiter's smile as he passed them by picking up speed when he was behind them. Zack didn't need to look back towards the guy to know he was headed towards the service phone to let the merc in the lobby know that their target – Hajime – was on his way down. He also knew that once the waiter sent the signal he would be intercepted by one of Night's people to keep him from spoiling their plans. It was lucky for Zack that Hajime was so high up in that happy cloud of victory because he noticed nothing!

"_My guy will be in the elevator when you guys get in. He will stay with you guys until the operation is over,"_

The elevator doors opened and there was a tall black man in a loud Hawaiian shirt and a Dallas Cowboys cap whistling cheerfully to himself. Zack recognized him from the last meeting he had with Night. It was Byron Meir – Night's right hand guy. But Zack was to pretend he was just another unknown guest of the hotel. Byron was supposed to eventually casually mention he worked at Silverleaf security and was in Spain on vacation enjoying his Victoria Secret employee discount. The man immediately noticed Hajime – like many of the guests had already upon his arrival – and struck up a conversation with Zack's friend.

"That was an awesome win man! Let me shake your hand! You did your country proud son!" Byron Meir said patting Hajime in the back. Hajime simply grinned and shook his hand willingly. Zack just smiled briefly and pretended to be more interested in his map of the city.

"_A few floors down the elevator will stop and the door will open 4 feet past the opening. Get off the elevator immediately!"_

The elevator jerked, it slowed down then stopped with a horrible grinding noise. Zack's heart was beating so hard he thought it might burst out of his chest any second! He had a hard time keeping the fear off of his face.

"Aw man…not again," complained Byron "yesterday I got stuck in this thing for an hour. I knew I shoulda gone down the stairs," he added rolling his eyes in mild annoyance. Zack looked at Hajime but he looked as unaffected as their elevator companion. Zack was too nervous to trust his tongue to stay as nonchalant as his face so he just shrugged and went back to studying the city map. Just then the elevator door opened and Zack found he could trust his tongue again.

"I say we take the stairs," he put in sounding relieved. Everything was going exactly as planned so he was starting to feel a lot better about this whole thing. Hajime agreed without questioning and in fact got out before Zack did. Byron followed them out and as soon as the big guy was out, the door closed. Byron pointed to the stairs and the three started towards them. Zack managed to join in the amicable conversation sounding his usual casual self.

"_Take your time heading down the stairs,"_

They made their way slowly down the stairs chatting cheerfully with their new friend. Hajime was in too good of spirits to notice anything amiss. More people joined them in the stairwell, they were told the elevator was malfunctioning and there were employees redirecting traffic down the stairs. More people were now joining Byron in the Hajime fandom. A couple of Swedish girls stopped them to get a picture with Hajime and Zack was only too happy to help them, anything to delay their arrival at the lobby. A couple of boys from the US that joined them in another floor also wanted a picture and again Hajime willingly posed with them, their slightly hyper sister Candace and their pet platypus.

"Hey, how about you guys join me for a glass of OJ and a couple pastries in the VIP lounge? My treat!" Byron invited cheerfully. Hajime looked at Zack – tour guide and master of their schedule – to see what he thought.

"If you're up for it pal, we have some time to kill anyways," Zack replied casually.

"Sure, but we'll skip on the pastries, we're having breakfast with my mom and the girls," Hajime replied unusually cheerful. Zack just smiled. Hajime was usually very serious and he'd been rather gloomy the past few months. But since his win he had been super upbeat. It made Zack that much more determined to foil his useless father's plans! No way would he allow his friend's victory to be soured by that jerk! When they got downstairs they headed for the restaurant and they took a table on a private balcony looking over towards the pool.

Zack sipped his orange juice and tried to look relaxed but his mind roamed away thinking of the training meeting and what Night said would happen following their mini adventure with the elevator…

Two young men hunched on the roof of the elevator listening to last minute reminders from their boss.

"We move when Night gives the signal," Byron added in a grave tone as he closed the access to the roof of the elevator.

"Blah! Blah! Blah! Come on! Let's go catch some kidnappers!" Johnny called down as he helped lock the roof access.

"This is gonna be awesome!" Kick added with a grin. Johnny Test grinned at his sidekick, Kick Buttowski. The two young men had been chosen for their youthful appearances and slight physical resemblances to Hajime and Zack. Johnny had slicked back his usually spiky blond hair and was wearing the same uniform Zack had been instructed to wear since he arrived in Spain. Kick was wearing an exact replica of Hajime's Team USA uniform and a ponytail hair extension to match Hajime's hair. The elevator suddenly began to move again and they gave each other a high five. The operation had started!

"That's our cue!" said Kick with an excited grin on his face as the elevator ground to a halt. They listened to their boss complain about the elevator. Then Zack suggested getting off and as everyone agreed Johnny risked cracking a little peephole open on the roof access. Once everyone was out and the elevator door closed; he slid open the little door all the way and let Kick jump in first. He jumped in right after tossing a replica of Zack's bag and clipboard down to Kick. The elevator began moving again and again they cheered and gave each other high fives as they got into character.

"Its show time!" announced Kick as they walked out of the elevator. Night had rigged the elevator display to make it look as though the elevator never stopped. But Night was in complete control as to where the elevator stopped and started. There was no one around just as they had expected. Well, no one except for one of the mercs masquerading as a local news reporter. The man approached asking Kick if he would consent to doing an interview for a local Spanish TV station. Doing their best impression of Zack and Hajime they agreed and walked out of the lobby to the street. Once outside a van screeched to a halt right in front of them and the merc that had approached them pulled out a gun and urged them in the van.

"Whoa man, don't hurt us! We'll cooperate!" Johnny said doing his best to sound scared though he and Kick were anything but! They're mission however was to get these guys away from the hotel and wait for them to let their boss know they had their target. From the conversation on the way Johnny realized they planned to ransom Zack as a little bonus.

'They are gonna be in for a huge surprise!' thought Johnny gleefully. Johnny and Kick weren't picked just for their looks after all. As children Johnny and Kick had been daredevils with an annoying penchant for wrecking things. As adults they had honed their daredevil skills into becoming master stuntmen with an extensive education in martial arts. Night had taken their education further by adding weapons and armor training to their repertoire. The boys still preferred to go weaponless for most missions but that didn't mean they were ever defenseless. Those two could turn anything into a weapon!

They were taken to a private hanger bay where a small private jet waited. They listened from under the black hoods they had put on them to cover their faces. The leader was calling someone letting him know they had the target. Johnny resisted the urge to laugh. These guys were not very smart at all! He had already undone the knots on the ropes they had put around his wrists. From the elbow bump Kick gave him, he knew his partner was good to go too! They were dragged out of the van but just then their big boss arrived.

"Hey! This is private property! Get…ugh," the man that had confronted Nightraven as he walked in was out like a light in an instant. And that was their cue! Kick and Johnny ripped off their hoods and their feet and hands whirled at lightning speed to disarm the would-be kidnappers nearest them. A brief firefight began but Night and Special Agent Gibbs – who came in behind Night – were ready for them. Two Interpol agents - Mr. Black and Mr. White - joined the battle from an adjacent door and the fight was soon over.

Once the kidnappers were subdued they set the stage for phase 2. Kamo Kujacu would be arriving soon and Kick had one more performance to do. Johnny went to change out of the preppy costume while his buddy went into the jet to wait for act 2 to begin. Johnny would now have to masquerade as one of the mercs Kamo hired since most of them were either unconscious or dead.

'And the ones wide awake and breathing are tied up and gagged in the office,' thought Johnny smiling with smug satisfaction as he finished dressing. The two turn coats that had let Night in the hanger and sold the plan to him; had been paid and were long gone. Victoria arrived just as Mr. Black and Mr. White had finished rounding up the unconscious ones. Johnny walked her towards the jet where she would wait inside to surprise Kamo. Then he helped Mr. Black and Mr. White cover up the dead ones to hide them from Kamo. They were just about done when Night called out that Kamo's limo was almost here.

'Alright! Time to catch a kidnapper!' thought Johnny with wicked glee as he put on his leather gloves and picked up one of the mercs discarded rifles…

Kamo stepped out of his limo looking forward to seeing the look on his son's face. It would be tough but he was confident that he could break Hajime. He was certain the boy would obey him given the proper training and motivation. He was also looking forward to humiliating Emi. He had promised himself he would make her beg! He walked toward the hanger with a swagger of satisfaction.

"Our leader is waiting in the plane Mr. Kujacu," said the blonde merc who showed him in. He was enjoying his victory too much to notice the mocking look in the merc's face as he walked past him. He spotted the jet and walked over to it where a merc stood guard at the bottom of the boarding steps. Again he ignored this next merc and again missed another cue that something was amiss. His mind was focused solely on breaking Hajime and making the boy his puppet. He entered the main cabin. It had two pairs of seats on both sides of the plane facing the exit and two pairs of seats with their backs to the door. He spotted Hajime right away on a seat facing the door. The boy had his head down covered by his hands.

"Oh don't look so glum son! You'll see your mother someday again! But by the time I'm done showing you what I have to offer I doubt you'll ever want to go back to that little reject of a mother!" he laughed as he took a seat opposite the boy. The boy put his hands down and looked up at Kamo. Kamo's laughter died in his throat and his blood suddenly ran cold.

"That's awesome _dad_," replied sarcastically the young man wearing Hajime's clothes. Kamo got up in a flash and backed away in a hurry from the stranger grinning at him with evil glee. He realized only at that moment that someone had betrayed him and this was a setup. His only hope now was to escape. A large hand stopped him and as he turned around he found Victoria Stillwater's chief of security standing there blocking his exit. Nightraven grinned evilly and pushed him back towards the chair he had abandoned. His mouth moved but no sound came out.

"Well done Buttowski! You can go," Night ordered and the young man jumped up from his chair and gave a jaunty salute to Night. Victoria emerged now from the pilot's cabin.

"Sit Kamo, we have much to discuss…" Victoria invited politely but there was something cold and evil in her voice. There was a dark joy in her eyes that frightened him to the core…

* * *

_At the same time somewhere in Japan…_

Oume had sent the girls away to Hannya's home in Domino City. Rage filled her obliterating all rational thinking. She had locked herself in Kamo's study and had turned herself into a human tornado! Vases, lamps, books, all of her husband's prized possessions…they all flew across the room smashing against the walls and the furniture most shattering into small pieces. Her rage was such that she over turned the furniture and smashed the chairs at the desk without much effort.

'It's not fair!' she raged silently. Exhausted she slumped to the ground grabbed a throw pillow and bit down on it hard trying to keep from screaming. Her idiotic husband had attempted to kidnap his bastard boy. Of course, Victoria found out somehow and her vindictive nature is legendary. Victoria had not only gotten Emi's sole custody ratified but she also had a fake marriage and a fake divorce accepted by Japanese family courts.

'It's not fair! It's not fair!' her mind continued to rage. In one fell swoop her status fell to second wife and on top of that her daughters were now second and third in line! Now legally Hajime was a legitimate son and could claim if he wanted what belonged to her daughters. This was the condition imposed on his family to keep Kamo from spending 20 or more years in a foreign prison for hiring wanted international criminals and kidnapping.

But that wasn't really why she raged.

Slowly she got up, straightening her hair and clothes then she left Kamo's office. She threatened the servants with immediate dismissal if they so much as attempted to enter the study. The wreckage was to remain as she left it until Kamo's return. Anyone attempting to clean it would be fired and their pay docked. She locked the door to ensure her daughter's didn't wander in accidentally. Then she marched to her study calling to her staff to let her know when her brother called.

Oume had a secret…a very big secret!

She closed all the blinds tightly and locked the door then walked over to her mantle. Moving a portrait aside she opened her safe. From that safe she took out a small locked jewelry box. She pulled the key out from its hiding place and unlocked the box. The jewelry in this box was mostly insignificant. The box however held a more important treasure in a hidden compartment on the side of the box. She took out the jewelry then pulled the inside lining off as she sat down and pulled out the Polaroid photo hidden there.

'Why does he get to keep his son? Why? When I had to give up mine?' she raged inwardly as tears finally crept down her face.

The photo was of her and her little baby boy. He was born in a hospital in Cairo three years ago. That year had been the only time she had experienced true happiness. She had experienced love for the first time in her life. It was an intoxicating feeling. Sick of Kamo's infidelities she threw caution to the wind and had an affair with one of Kamo's old college classmate's.

She had been confident in not getting pregnant. After all, her two girls had been a miracle of modern science. She had suffered several miscarriages and required expensive and difficult fertility treatments in order to get pregnant with both Hana and Mai. Kamo had never been tested because he insisted it was her fault that they had trouble having children. Oume had also blamed herself. After all, Emi had gotten pregnant on the one and only time she was with Kamo.

So she was surprised when she woke one morning and realized she had skipped a period! But her joy at being pregnant once more was something she could not share right away. Oume knew that her baby was not Kamo's. Ever since Mai's birth she had found ways to trick Kamo while he was drunk into believing he had been with her. In reality the only man that had touched her had been Jamie – her lover.

Her baby had her bright blue eyes but otherwise he was the image of his father. She hugged the photo to her and wept silently. Jamie Yamaguchi was a photographer of great success. His photographs were seen in some of the most famous galleries and published in the most illustrious magazines. His American mother had been a painter of some recognition before she died of a heart attack when he was a young boy. He had lived in Japan with his father for most of his young life but left to study in the US after high school. He met Kamo in California, they were roommates.

Jamie had come back to take pictures of historical places in Kyoto and visit with his father in Domino. Kamo invited him to stay with them while he took his photos. The affair had started almost right away. Jamie was good looking, smart with an easy going smile. He was calm, confident and friendly. He was as different from Kamo as any man could be! She had been reckless with him but it had felt good.

Jamie had left for an assignment in Egypt by the time she found out she was pregnant. She convinced her husband into going to Egypt for a vacation. While there she was able to trick Kamo into believing her pregnancy was his doing. She bribed a local doctor into forbidding she leaves the country. Considering how delicate her previous pregnancies had been, it was easy to convince her family that staying put was in the best interest of the baby. Kamo returned to Japan with Hana who was happy to have her daddy to herself. Daddy always let her get away with anything!

'My little prince,' she thought as she stroked the image on the paper. Her mind drifted back to those wonderful months. Mai was just over a year old so she had kept her in Egypt for a while then sent her home when her time came close. Hannya picked her up on his way back from picking Aoshi up from yet another boarding school he was dismissed from. As soon as Kamo was gone Jamie moved in. It was the happiest time of Oume's life! He was with her through the whole pregnancy! And it was a perfect worry-free pregnancy. She realized then that it was Kamo - not her - the real cause of her child bearing woes.

An Egyptian doctor explained to her that there were certain conditions in men that could make woman unable to conceive or have multiple miscarriages. Had Kamo been tested properly she would've had other alternatives. The only complication came when the baby was born. The baby was not in position so the doctor's had to perform a c-section. However, an error during the operation caused irreparable damage to her uterus which meant she would never be able to carry any children again.

'My precious little prince,' she thought wondering how the little boy was doing now. He should be about three years old. She had wept when the nurse put him in her arms because she knew she could never pass him as Kamo's baby. If he had looked more like her… maybe. Jamie suggested she leave Kamo. She could marry him and they could be happy. But for someone like Oume, who spent most of her life trying to control people with fear and intimidation, could only see the many ways that her precious baby and her feelings for Jamie could be used to hurt her.

She had told Jamie she was going to give him up for adoption that her brother would help her find him a good home but Jamie balked at the idea. He suggested instead he take their baby away and raise him. They would disappear for a while and when he returned he would have a good story made up to protect her and their baby. She accepted and as they were released from the hospital; Jamie and her little prince were loaded onto one taxi, she in another with only a Polaroid Jamie took at the hospital hidden in her purse. She never saw them again.

She returned with falsified documents stating the baby was stillborn and a sealed funeral urn filled with sand. Jamie sent Kamo a short letter over a year later when his new photo book came out, saying he'd married and had a son. He sent a photo of a beautiful olive skinned woman holding Oume's baby. Kamo had commented she was good looking and the baby looked just like Jamie. She wanted to scream at him it was _her_ baby but had kept a straight face and her lips sealed. She later found the photo and after cutting her baby's image out she burned the woman's picture.

She stroked the cut out image stuck to the back of the Polaroid. She kissed the smiling face on the cut out. She thought back on the day Jamie suggested their baby's name. He had been allowed to take pictures at a newly discovered tomb. The sound of his voice floated into her mind…

"_I know what we should call her if it's a girl!" Jamie exclaimed over dinner as he related the discovery. She smiled at him. Smiling came easy for her around him._

"_What is it?" she asked but in her mind she had already agreed to whatever he was going to say._

"_Kisara!" he exclaimed. He told the tale of a young foreign woman with mysterious powers that had saved the young pharaoh's life. She laughed, his excitement was infectious! She loved every minute she spent with him. Little Mai laughed not fully understanding what was happening but wanting to join in the fun anyway._

"_I like it!" she agreed easily. He continued now talking about the teenage pharaoh who had to work hard to rebuild his kingdom after a devastating war. He was brilliant and strong and apparently a very serious young man. His mother died when he was a little boy and his father and nearly everyone in the royal court died during the war. His kingdom won the war and then prospered under his rule and he lived a happy long life._

"_So if it's a boy we should name him after that pharaoh!" Jamie concluded with a grin. _

"_Ok! So what was his name?" she asked…_

A light rap on the door returned her to the present. A maid called thru the door that her brother Hannya was on the phone.

"I will take it in here," she acknowledged the maid coldly pressing the photo to her chest. She heard the quick footsteps of the maid scurrying away from her door. She looked at the photo once more and smiled.

'Your mother will find a way to you one day my little pharaoh,' she promised herself. Suddenly she felt as though it would be possible. She didn't know when or how but she would manage it someday. She also knew somehow that she would not suffer Kamo's fate; her son would not hate her. She knew Jamie would make sure he didn't. She just had to be patient. One day she would be with her baby again.

"Until then…good night my little prince Seto," she said to the picture as she put it back in the box and tucked it in her safe…

* * *

_Two weeks later…_

Tokio sat for a few minutes during a long party. Olympic athletes had returned from Spain and Tokio was hired once more to be a waitress. She liked the pay but some parties were more difficult to deal with than others. Sometimes she almost preferred the clean up crews. Less pay but far fewer perverts! Her coworker Izzy came along and gave her a sympathetic smile.

"Tonight's rough! I hope we get a good tip," commented Izzy sounding as tired as Tokio felt. Izzy was a classmate of Tripp's usually he would be here with them too but tonight he was playing with Iron Weasel. It had been his dream to be in that band. He had finally gotten his wish! Tonight was the first time he got to be on stage with them.

"But Tripp looked like he was having fun! I'm so happy for him," Tokio added. Izzy smiled and agreed. Their lift in mood though was short lived when a couple of the brat's that had been giving them a hard time found them in their little hideout in the kitchen pantry. Tokio quickly got up not letting them attempt even one more pathetic pick up line.

"Sorry sir! This area is for employees only!" she said forcefully and shoved them out of the large pantry shutting the door in their faces. She put her back against the door as they banged on it for a moment but they soon went away. Tokio sat back again on the floor next to Izzy.

"You wanna know what my worse nightmare is," Izzy began with an annoyed glare at the door.

"Ending up with one of those dorks?" Tokio asked with equal annoyance. Izzy laughed. Tokio had guessed perfectly! Then she described her idea of a perfect guy and it didn't match any of the guys that had been hitting on them tonight with their cheesy and sometimes insulting pick up lines.

"What about you? What's your idea of the perfect guy?" Izzy finally asked. Tokio shook her head.

"I don't have one yet but I know its not one of those morons!" she began and shared with her buddy that all she wanted right now was to be a doctor and a boyfriend was a distraction and a waste of time. She only wanted to keep her nose in the books and finish school.

"Don't you want to at least have some fun and date cute boys? Their not all bad," Izzy insisted. Tokio shook her head. Any boy she tried to see would likely end up being beaten to within an inch of his life by Chris and his cronies. Poor Tripp, who'd done nothing but give her a ride home one night found that out the hard way. That's how she found out his home life had once been similar to hers. No, it was best to keep to her self. However, if she didn't say something even remotely teenage-like her buddy would keep pushing and she didn't feel like sharing the more nasty details of her personal life.

"School doesn't leave me much time. But you know something I would like to meet a guy who isn't a jerk and doesn't want a relationship who wouldn't mind giving me my first kiss! Someone who's not gonna expect anything else afterward," Tokio finally admitted. Izzy looked at her like she was nuts! She opened her mouth to say something when the pantry door opened. Tokio jumped up ready for a battle but relaxed when she realized it was just Tripp.

"Hey Izzy! Hey Tee! What's up?" he greeted cheerfully and sat down with the girls. He looked tired but he was full of joy! The smile on his face was priceless. Tokio was happy for her friend. Izzy congratulated him a great set and so did Tokio. Yet another of the endless parade of dorks showed up – some jerk named Dash – who apparently went to school with Tripp. Tokio quickly sent him away too.

"You know we were just talking about his type a minute ago," Tokio remarked annoyed all over again. Izzy started to complain about them but switched tracks and told Tripp what Tokio had told her. Instead of the "you're crazy" response that Izzy expected Tripp nodded slowly. Tripp knew about her situation though – unlike their friend Izzy. Tripp and his mom understood what it was like to have to live with an abuser. While they were free from Tripp's dad Tokio still had a long way to go. So Tripp and his mom helped Tokio out every now and then. But she tried not to get them too involved anyway.

"Yea…Get through the rite of passage without getting distracted from the goal. I get it!" Tripp replied "but it's a tall order Tee. Most of the guys I know that would agree would totally ruin your moment!" he pointed out with a frown.

"Figured as much! I'd rather not have a first kiss than regret who I got it from!" Tokio replied unconcerned and changed the subject. She has already resigned herself to a lonely life; freedom was the only goal in her mind and she would pay any price. She would be ok if she didn't get a first kiss. She knew Tripp understood. But Izzy wasn't quite ready to let things go! She watched Tokio and Tripp talk about Iron Weasel and suddenly an idea popped into her head and she blurted it right out.

"You should do it!" she yelled at Tripp excitedly. She jumped up and began gesturing wildly; a big maniacal grin on her face as she explained her idea.

"Listen! Tripp, you're gonna be busy with Iron Weasel so you're not gonna be getting together with anyone for a little while, right?" Izzy began excitedly but Tripp didn't get a chance to respond because Izzy just plowed on. Tokio just gave her a suspicious look. Izzy sometimes got carried away.

"And we're all friends, right? What's the harm in a friendly Christmas or New Year's Eve kiss!? Tokio gets her first kiss without weirdness or drama!" Izzy concluded excitedly. Tokio gave her a suspicious look but she was right. Tripp was the right candidate. He was a good friend and because they understood each other's situations too well neither would have romantic intentions towards the other.

"Well…I suppose it would be alright," Tokio began cautiously. Tripp didn't seem all that convinced though.

"I guess it would be ok but…a first kiss shouldn't be planned like that…" Tripp put in unsure. Izzy was ready for him. She rattled on excitedly that there was any number of holidays left in the year that were good excuses for a kiss.

"Besides, Tokio didn't you say you're graduating this year? Graduations are great excuses for kissing! Tripp could just surprise you on any of those occasions!" Izzy insisted. Tokio got up as she looked at her watch. Break time was almost over so she needed to wrap this up.

"Sure Izzy! I guess if Tripp doesn't mind I'm game," she agreed calmly. Tripp got up too but he realized that he would agree to do it simply because his friend deserved to have good memories of her teenage years too. He was confident he could provide at least this one thing: one moment that she could always remember and never regret. They headed out of the pantry.

"Ok! So if you leave it to me I promise you a memorable first kiss!" he agreed determined to see it through and make it one of her happiest memories. He wasn't sure when or how but he would find a way!

"Sure Tripp! I'll leave it up to you! Surprise me!" Tokio agreed with a chuckle as she grabbed a tray of hors d' oeuvres and headed back out to the party…

* * *

_Early September - 1992_

Hajime, AC and Zack pulled into the driveway of Victoria's opulent home. They were boys on a mission! According to Zack in exchange for enjoying all the luxuries they received in Spain they were to do some babysitting hours for Victoria's little guest: a little girl called Misao. Hajime was more than happy to accept. Victoria had been extremely generous with her money. He and his mother had enjoyed luxuries that they had never imagined they could!

'If all she wants is for us to look out for her little friend then I'm happy to do it!' Hajime thought to himself feeling in high spirits. They parked where the security guard directed them then headed towards the house feeling nervous yet excited. AC was the most excited and he wondered aloud how many of Victoria's models they would get to see. They took turns signing the guest book as they came through the foyer. A creepy looking guy in baggy jeans, dirty steel toe boots, a short messy looking haircut and a puke green jacket covered in dirt talked quietly with a classmate of theirs – Tripp Campbell – just past the main staircase.

"That's the creepy guy I told you guys about," Zack whispered as he waited to sign the book guest book. At that moment the "creepy guy" turned and gave them a suspicious look. Tripp looked at them and waved casually then turned to walk away. The "guy" turned and said something to Tripp. Tripp laughed and walked away. The creepy boy stood there at the bottom of the stairs and glared at Zack. Zack tried to ignore him but it was too obvious the guy made Zack nervous.

"Take a picture! It'll last longer," Hajime said before he could stop himself. Defending his friends was an automatic reflex but he had told himself he was going to be polite no matter what here. The guy just smirked mockingly at him then went back to glaring at Zack and now AC who joined Hajime in glaring at the creepy boy for a minute while they waited for Zack sign in.

The macho stand-off moment ended when Screech walked over to the creepy boy. Screech waved cheerfully as AC and Hajime prepared themselves to jump in if the guy was mean to their nerdy buddy. But there was no need to worry. The guy's attitude completely changed when Screech approached. He smiled tiredly at their buddy and spoke quietly. They couldn't hear what the boy was talking about but it seemed as though he was giving Screech directions and he seemed to be very friendly with Screech.

"Good news guys! He says we have to get badges! He's gonna bring us over to the security office so we don't get lost!" Screech announced cheerfully that his new friend would be happy to walk them over to Mr. Nightraven's office.

"Yeah I bet he will," said AC suspicious but Hajime decided to let it go. He looked around now taking in the architecture and ignored his friends and the creepy boy for a minute while they waited for Zack. AC reluctantly let it go too and took a few steps to the opposite side of the foyer to look at himself in the mirror near the door. He leaned over the table to take a closer look at his hair…

Tokio watched the trio of peacocks preening near the entrance with mild disdain. Their vain and spoiled appearance made her think of Chris. She had managed to barely escape from him today. It had required quite a bit of rough terrain hiking but she managed to get away without him and his cronies laying a finger on her! It was a victory for her and making these three morons squirm under her scrutiny was icing on the cake! The friendly nerdy-looking one was a nice change of pace; it's too bad he kept such bad company though. She would've liked to get to know him.

'If it hadn't been for their little buddy they'd still be squirming!' she thought but her mind was already moving away from the trio of idiots. Her impending trip to Paris was eroding their faces from her memory already. Today was the day! She was going to Paris with Nightraven for 3 whole months! She had gotten some French language tapes and books and had studied diligently for weeks.

The guy with the giant biceps and the poufy hair walked over to the table with the mirror. Tokio started moving towards him as she heard the little table creak. That table was small and delicate and its legs were so skinny and long; it was not very stable. The guy put his beefy hands on the delicate wood table to lean into the mirror past the flowers on the vase in the center of the table. His friend with the long hair called him and he shoved himself away from the table roughly.

"NO!" was all Tokio managed to say as she dove towards the table! She caught the falling vase as she landed on her back. Thankfully the padding she usually wore to protect herself from Chris cushioned her fall. The flowers and the water in the vase spilled out on the floor. There was nothing she could do about that but at least the expensive imported vase had not broken. She was even able to stop the table from toppling with her leg. The surge of adrenaline at yet another victory today made her feel giddy for moment.

"Arrrgh! What the hell are you doing?" yelled the guy with big biceps as he backed away from where Tokio was laying with the long vase against her chest. The smile on her face quickly disappeared. Only now did she notice that some of the water had splashed on to the back of his shoes. The water had splashed to just above his ankle on his left leg. Lucky, considering the vase was pretty big and had a lot of water but it had splashed mostly on her arm and on the floor.

"Step back sir," Tokio growled annoyed as she got up. She rolled her eyes as AC whined about his new shoes and his wet pants then complained to her that she didn't have to spill the water on him. She didn't put the vase back on the table though. Still holding it she bent down to pick up the flowers and put them back in the vase. She shook her head in disdain as AC continued to complain about his shoes and pants.

'What an idiot! He hardly got any water on him at all!' she thought disgusted with his severe shallowness and not bothering to respond to his whining. She rolled her eyes again as his nerdy friend finally became the voice of reason by pointing out Tokio had saved him from having to pay for a very expensive vase. She called to the kitchen on the intercom and told Tripp – who was there eating breakfast with his mom – to send someone to clean up a spill.

"Oh…well thanks I guess," AC grudgingly admitted but Tokio could care less. After she had straightened the table she began to walk away.

"Stay there sir. Someone will come for you. Please do not touch anything," she threw back at them in a slightly angry tone as she walked away with the vase. She felt a little angry at the beef cake idiot but firmly she decided to put the incident out of her mind. She was going to Paris today! She would not allow even the slightest blemish on what was otherwise supposed to be a perfect day…

Zack could tell AC was pretty upset. He had been the most nervous of them all on the ride over here and when he was nervous or worried about making a strong first impression he could be a real jerk; as he was when he first arrived at Bayside. Zack would try to calm him down once the creepy boy was out of ear shot. The last thing he wanted was to piss off Victoria and she might tell Hajime what went on in Spain if she were. She had warned that any misbehavior on their part would not be tolerated. She would probably not appreciate them yelling at the staff on the first day here.

"Screech is right! That thing probably costs $500 and you nearly broke it you moron!" Hajime scolded him as soon as the guy was out of sight beating Zack to the punch. Zack was just glad it wasn't any of the female staff. The last thing he wanted to happen now is to accidentally upset or insult the mystery girl that saved Hajime! What she did for Hajime was priceless and he would be forever indebted to her for her selfless help.

"Relax AC it's not that bad! Look, here comes Nightraven," Zack added but the look on Night's face didn't bode well for the boys.

"Hey Zack…that guy…I don't think he was a guy," whispered Screech very softly to him looking more confused than usual. A cold chill ran down Zack's spine…

Tripp could tell his friend was upset even though she tried hard not to show it! He waved her over and offered her some of his buttered toast then asked her what happened. Tokio took the toast but seemed reluctant to tell at first but Night joined them and insisted she tell her side. He had seen most of it on the surveillance camera. With a heavy sigh Tokio quickly related her tale.

'First Chris now Slater! Geez! Poor Tee doesn't catch a break!' Tripp thought shaking his head. Night took the tale in with a blank look on his face but then smirked at her.

"That was a pretty sweet save kid! You might just have earned yourself a bonus!" Night commented with a chuckle and patted her head. He then told her to grab something to eat then head upstairs. Tokio's face changed completely as it lit up with true and rare happiness. She hurried to do as her boss commanded. Before leaving the kitchen he took out his little camera and snapped a quick picture of the two of them.

"That's the "before" photo!" Night began with a chuckle "Go upstairs! Victoria's people are waiting to get you ready for our trip!" Night ordered as he headed out of the kitchen with a maid in tow to clean up the mess. Tripp knew Tokio was looking forward to actually dressing like a girl for a change without worrying about weirdoes on the bus or Chris and his cronies. His mom helped her get together a small tray with a sandwich and a fruit bowl with homemade granola and yogurt. He poured enough OJ into a small jar for both of them and offered to carry her some more toast upstairs for them to share. He followed her up but he would have to wait in the entertainment room for her to be done.

"So Tee! You have to send me a post card when you get there!" began Tripp cheerfully taking the subject into happier terrain as they left the kitchen. Night had already taken Tokio's antagonizers away from the foyer when the two reached the stairs. The maid had just finished cleaning up when they reached her.

"You bet! I already have your address in my new pocketbook! Night gave me some French stamps already too! It's the first thing I'm gonna do!" she exclaimed excitedly. She added she had promised Izzy the same thing already and another friend of hers in Virginia. He sat in the entertainment room flipping channels on a giant TV for about an hour. When Tokio finally came over to tell him she was ready to go. She was almost unrecognizable!

"Wow! I almost didn't recognize you!" he exclaimed surprised. They laughed and walked out. Tripp picked up her suitcase and carried it down for her. She talked about all the things she had been doing this week to prepare. Night had been sending her to a tanning salon the last few weeks to get the nice even golden brown look on her legs that she had now. She went to a spa to get waxed the day before. Finally, today they had done her manicure, pedicure and facial after a quick shower.

She wore a denim miniskirt with a pink strapless top and a matching denim jacket. She had a pair of strappy heels on her feet that made her look tall and long legged. Her usually flat and dirty looking hair was clean and curly. Victoria's personal stylist had fixed her hair and done her makeup.

"When did you get a perm?" he asked. The curls on her hair were the one thing that made her look most different.

"Actually, my hair naturally curls but the curls give me away so I usually straighten it," she admitted and just like that the moment seemed broken as they were both reminded of the awful reality Tokio lived in. Tokio however shook it off and started talking about all the things she was going to do while she was away. She also looked forward to moving into her new place. It was supposed to be walking distance from campus so she wouldn't have to get up to take the bus so early in the morning anymore. She would move in when she returned.

"Wait here, I'll go get this into the car for you," Tripp said as they reached the foyer. He left Tokio remarking on his way out that the maid hadn't put back the vase. She had instead put a couple of worthless little trinkets on the table. They both laughed as he left her there by the door to wait for Night to send the car around. Night's luggage was sitting by the porch…

'All things considered our little interview with Nightraven went really well', thought Zack. Night didn't mention the incident on the foyer with the vase. Something he was grateful for. Though he did glare at AC a lot! Still, it went smoothly and now they had their badges. AC was breathing easier now that this was over with. They'd even gotten permission to take a look around the house.

They spotted Victoria with a couple of bikini clad models during their little exploration by the pool. He had to remind himself several times that he had a girlfriend to keep all his usual lines from popping out of his mouth. AC had no such issues! He and Jesse had already moved on with their lives and were seeing other people. He did fairly well at first until they realized that AC was still in high school. They ran into Tripp sitting in the entertainment room but the guy barely acknowledged them.

'Now that I think of it…he kinda gave us the cold shoulder,' thought Zack. He decided he would not bring it up. The creepy guy – whom he was almost sure now wasn't a guy – was obviously Tripp's friend judging by how they were talking earlier. Seeing how AC treated his friend it was a small miracle he didn't lash out at them. Zack was wishing now that Tripp had said something that way they could've cleared the air. But perhaps it was better if he did it on his own. He was the more diplomatic and practical of the three amigos

'I guess I can always find a moment to talk to them when I come on my own,' Zack thought. He didn't like leaving things the way they were. He was almost certain it was Tripp's friend who helped Hajime. He was confident he would find a moment to talk to Tripp and straighten things out. After going back to the office to pick up their new badges they headed back towards the fateful foyer.

"Third time's a charm," AC said rubbing his hands. There was a very beautiful girl with legs so long, smooth and shapely as to leave Jesse's long legs in the dust! In fact despite him dating the most beautiful girl in Bayside he would admit - to himself only - that this girl could easily out shine in looks alone any Bayside High girl! She was standing near the table that AC nearly knocked over. Had he and Hajime not had steady girlfriends the 3 would be playing rock, paper scissors to see which of them would get to go hit on her.

"I think you should cool it! This is only our first day and we've already done enough," said Hajime rather testily. Hajime held grudges for a long time. He likely still felt embarrassed over what happened in the foyer. Haji would most likely remind them of the incident every time they approached this house for the next six months!

"Relax, Haji! I'm just gonna go over there and say hi! You know make a… _friend_," AC replied in a suave tone that let them know that diplomacy was the furthest thing from his mind. Zack watched AC walk over there and as the girl first ignored him then shot him down in a fiery blaze he groaned softly. He saw Nightraven by the limo smirking evilly at them and realized then that nothing they ever did in this house would ever be forgiven or forgotten. He would watch his step around here; after all, he still didn't know what had become of the mercs Hajime's father hired or even what Nightraven did to his father!

'The trick will be how to warn these guys without telling them why,' Zack thought not paying any attention to AC's little drama. But as he finally tuned in to AC's little drama he realized that he had better think of something soon!

...

Tokio took out her French language version of Romeo and Juliet from her small carry-on bag as Tripp hurried away with her suitcase. She was determined to learn as much as she could before arriving in France and trying to read French was the best way she could think of. She heard voices coming from behind her and realized it was the same three boys from before. She paid them no attention as she concentrated on her book.

Tokio had the most amazing ability! She could concentrate on something with such single-minded focus that everything would literally disappear around her. So it took her a few moments to realize that someone was speaking to her… in French in fact. She frowned without looking up from her book. With her basic understanding of the language and the book in her hands she realized he was reciting Romeo's lines from the balcony scene. She looked up and gave him a puzzled look. She wasn't very sure but it sounded like he was hitting on her.

'The meat head from before…is hitting on me! Oh sweet justice!' Tokio thought cheerfully as his clumsy attempt gave her the perfect opening for a little payback. She could see the limo pulling up to the front. Nightraven got out of the car and was loading his own luggage. He didn't trust anyone to touch his weapons cases or his precious armor. He had a thing for armor! So while she waited for Night to be done she decided to give him a taste of humility.

"You know I lived in Paris for a while when my father was stationed in France. I'm very fluent in the language," he said in a suggestive tone. It was all Tokio could do to keep a straight face. An hour ago he looked down his nose at her but add some high heels and a mini-skirt and he was now ready to throw himself at her feet. Ms. Stillwater was right: Beauty is power!

"So you weren't raised in barn then! You know when I was a very little girl my mother taught me that when you want to interrupt a person you need to ask politely and wait for them to acknowledge you before you go barging into their personal time and space," Tokio began in an extremely haughty tone taking a step away from AC. She didn't let him answer.

"If I had been interested in speaking to a rude airhead like you I would've walked right over to you. Perhaps you should work on your manners as much as you do on your overgrown muscles," Tokio concluded in a condescending tone looking at him as though he were something yucky. She noticed Night was done and in fact was watching her and smirking with evil glee. She saw him say something over the walkie-talkie and laugh. She wondered if she might be earning herself another bonus.

"Now if you'll excuse me I have better places to be," she finished in a haughty tone as she put her book back in her bag. She walked away gracefully and as she did she noticed Tripp laughing as he ran up the stairs to catch up with her just outside the door.

"Hey Tee! You remember that promise I made you?" he asked as he approached her. It took her a moment to remember what Tripp was talking about but when she did she smiled mischievously.

"Yes I do! This is the perfect excuse!" she replied cheerfully. She remembered what Tripp had said about the 3 boys behind her. They were the most popular boys in his school and he had a tendency to not get noticed much because they apparently hogged the spot light. Sometimes girls would outright break dates or not show up because they were asked out by one of those three. She would be happy to rub some salt in the wound! Do some payback for the both of them.

Tripp smiled back and wrapped his arms around her waist. Automatically, she put her arms around his neck as he pulled her up to meet her lips. He started off soft and slow then tightening his arms around her pushed his tongue past her lips for a few heartbeats then finally he released her. Tokio couldn't have dreamt a better first kiss! Tripp delivered on his promise beautifully as far as Tokio was concerned.

"Have a great time in Paris," he said softly and hugged her but this was more obviously a brotherly hug. The one she was used to getting from him.

"I will! I'll write as soon as I get there!" she promised smiling back at him. She felt truly happy for once… happier than she'd felt in a very long time. She felt a great swell of gratitude towards her good friend too. As she walked away she said a silent prayer of thanks to all the forces that had brought her to Nightraven and Ms. Stillwater and all the wonderful people who worked with her. She completely missed the look of embarrassment on AC. Night stopped both teenagers by the open door of the limo and took the "after" photo. She smiled as Tripp closed the door for her after she stepped into the limo.

"You're ready for Paris I see," said Nightraven in a slightly teasing tone.

"You bet!" she replied cheerfully looking out the back to wave goodbye to Tripp. But before Night asked her what was going on with her and Tripp she launched into the whole story beginning with Tripp's promise. Night just laughed.

"You know I was just trying to think of a way to teach those boys a little humility," he began "but you did a great job! You definitely earned yourself a bonus!" he concluded with a hearty laugh. Tokio smiled and laughed with him thinking of all the things she would spend her bonus on while she was away…

Zack groaned as he watched Tripp walk up to the pretty girl that just shot down AC with such awesome brutality and practically make out with the girl just outside the door.

'How did flaky, mostly invisible so called musician Tripp Campbell manage to get a girl like that?' Zack asked himself. With looks like hers she had to be one of Victoria's models. Most of the girls at Bayside ignored Tripp or went to him only when he, AC, Hajime or anyone in the football team were unavailable.

"I told you to cool it! You brought this on yourself!" Haji growled at AC. In a low voice he made AC note the way Night was smirking and the fact that the girl had called him an airhead.

"How many airheads do you know can recite Shakespeare in French by memory? It was a set up! Nightraven meant to embarrass us for what we did to that guy earlier!" Hajime deduced angrily. Zack thought about it and he was most likely right.

"You're probably right. Damn, I can't believe I walked right into that!" replied AC both annoyed and embarrassed. They all looked away from the couple on the steps.

"No wonder he didn't say anything to us," Zack added but now that Haji made those points he began to fear that the girl on the porch with Tripp was the same creepy "guy" from before. If you looked hard enough there were some similarities. He was grateful though for Hajime's natural tendency to be suspicious! It would now be easier to keep a low profile for a while.

'Perhaps I can find a way to get Jess to know the story. She'll definitely never let him forget! Screech should be able to help me,' he thought as Tripp finally made his way back into the house.

"Well at least we know what kind of guy she's into," AC remarked in a slightly annoyed tone his pride was obviously still stinging. Hajime glared at AC but said nothing. Hajime was loyal to a fault most of the time so even though AC was in the wrong he was gonna stand by him…at least until Tripp was gone. Tripp just laughed.

"Yea! She likes nice guys! You know…the kind that don't yell at the help especially when their helping," Tripp responded with a mischievous smirk.

"Later losers!" he called back with a chuckle as he walked back towards the kitchen. Zack could tell the swagger in Tripp's steps annoyed Haji and AC to no end but he was grateful for the outcome of this little drama. He would talk to Tripp later on his own and see if he could find some way to make it up to his friend without the others finding out.

"I was right! Now let's go before we stick our foot in it any further," Hajime growled angrily at them. They all agreed and Zack knew that he would make sure the girls found out. He wouldn't take any chances! If that girl was the same one that had saved Hajime he could not risk insulting her further. And they did try to forget the creepy "guy" well at least AC and Hajime did.

Zack tried to make friends with Tripp and his creepy friend but Tripp refused to go anywhere near him. He couldn't blame Tripp and his shy friend. They hadn't exactly made a great first impression. And they didn't really have a great history with Tripp either. AC and Hajime hadn't exactly made his life easy. According to what he got Lisa to dig up nearly every girl Tripp had tried to date had been swiped away by AC, Hajime and some even by himself!

As time went by, Zack gave up on ever befriending the girl who saved Hajime. AC and Hajime reciprocated Tripp's coldness without a second thought. And Tripp's mysterious friend seemed to pop up in odd little dark corners to glare at them and make them nervous then disappear before Zack could get close enough to talk to him. It was disconcerting to say the least.

And whenever AC and Haji complained about the anonymous "creepy guy" everyone in the house – even Victoria – would say: "What creepy guy?" or "Oh, do you mean Nightraven? He's always like that! You get used to it!" It seemed as though there was some kind of conspiracy going on to keep the girl hidden from them. So he eventually managed to make the guys just drop the issue. He had a fair amount of help from Jessie – who after hearing the story – was more than willing to constantly remind AC that he was the one who'd been wrong and that he should just grow up and get over it.

In the end Zack figured at least if he couldn't befriend the girl he could respect her wishes and take what happened with Hajime's father to his grave or as close as he could manage it!

-0-

Ok, I know the whole thing with Oume sounds weird. But I was thinking about the original Aoshi Shinomori from the show. Here is a guy with lots of potential and plenty of good looks and brain power; yet despite all the possibilities he could have opted for he chose to be some lowly bodyguard to a drug dealer. He made a long series of bad choices before and after being defeated by Kenshin. After that he was forced to live with the guilt and the terrible consequences – that could have been far worse without Kenshin's intervention – for the remainder of his life. His poor choices lost him the four people he cared about most and almost cost him the cheerful girl who was the only person in the world that could make him smile. So this situation I wanted mirrored in a way not just with Aoshi but with Oume. She's trapped by her need to be "the strongest" into bad choices but like Aoshi there is redemption for her though it will take a long time. Emi is her sort of Kenshin…Emi defeats her in that she is free to do the things Oume thinks she can't.

As for Seto Kaiba being Oume's son…well I just couldn't help myself throwing the soap opera bit in! Hahahahahahahaha…If you watch Yugioh the Kaiba brothers are super different from one another in looks and in personality. So it gave me the perfect opening! Seto's personality is a lot like Oume and like his Shinomori brethren he is stuck making bad choices because he can't figure out how to be powerful without them…that is until his Kenshin comes along and straightens him out!

As for Kamo…well I'm not sure yet. He's become a bit of my view on my father's kind of man: The ones that faced with the loss of their youth and vigor head slowly – or quickly in some cases – to a path of self destruction. They can't handle getting old and long years in a monogamist relationship have scared them as much as the gray hair and the aches and pains of growing old. I don't know how he'll end up yet.

I felt a little bad picking on AC but he was the perfect choice. He was introduced in Saved by the Bell as an antagonist after all! lol It took AC a while to become friends with Zack and the rest of the gang. And for once I just didn't want it to be Screech the one who gets clumsy and knocks things over. Poor Screech got enough of that during series! And the funny thing is that if you listen to Screech he's the one saying or doing the occasional truly profound thing but mostly we ignore him because whatever message he has is lost amid whatever joke is playing out in the foreground.

Thanks for reading and reviewing! And thank you for your patience!


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